GIFT  or 


Photograph  by  Taber. 


INDIANS 

OF 

THE   YOSEMITE  VALLEY 

AND  VICINITY 

Their  History,  Customs  and  Traditions 

BY 

CALEF  CLARK 

Discoverer  of  the  Mariposa  Grove  of  Big-  Trees  and  for  nTau>'  vears 
Guardian  of  the  Yosemite  Valley 


With  an  Appendix 

of 
Useful  Information  for  Yosemite  Visitors 


ILLUSTRATED   B f 

CHRIS.  JORGFNSEN 

AND    FROM    PHOTOGHAPHf 


YOSEMITE   VALLEY,    CALIFORNIA 

GALEN   CLARK 

1904 


Copyright    1904,  by  Gulen  Clark, 
ALL  HIQHTS  KESKRVKD. 


•*  * 


ELK("I'ROTYPKI>    AND   PRINTED 
BV    THB 

H    S.  CROCKER  Co.,  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


TO    MY    FRIEND 

CHARLES    HOWARD    BURNETT 


8690 1 8 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION    AND     SKETCH    OF    THE 
AUTHOR   ix 

CHAPTER 

I.  EARLY  HISTORY    i 

II.  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR 14 

III.  CUSTOMS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS 21 

IV.  SOURCES  OF  FOOD  SUPPLY 31 

V.  RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS...     49 

VI.     NATIVE  INDUSTRIES 67 

VII.     MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS 76 

APPENDIX  : 

Hints  to  Yosemite  Visitors 101 

Official  Table  of  Distances  and  Livery 

Charges 105 

Supplementary  Table  of  Distances 107 

Interpretation  of  Indian  Names 107 

Tables  of  Altitudes.  .  .no 


nf  JlUuatratuws 


COVER  DESIGN Mrs.  Jorgensen 

FRONTISPIECE,   GALEN   CLARK,  on  his   Eighty- 
ninth  Birthday Taber 

PAGE 

YOSEMITE  FALLS,  Fiske 3 

AN  INDIAN  DANCER,  Boy  sen 8 

THREE  BROTHERS,  Foley 13 

CAPTAIN  PAUL,  Foley 17 

YOSEMITE  MOTHER  AND  PAPOOSE,  Boysen 20 

INDIAN  O'-CHUM,  Jorgensen 25 

YOSEMITE  MAIDEN  IN  NATIVE  DRESS,  Jorgensen  27 

A  YOSEMITE  HUNTER,  Jorgensen 32 

INDIAN  SWEAT  HOUSE,  Jorgensen 34 

CHUCK'- AH,  Mrs.  Jorgensen 39 

HO'-YAS  AND  ME-TATS',  Fiske 42 

A  WOOD  GATHERER,  Fiske 47 

A  YOUNG  YOSEMITE,  Dove 53 

LENA  AND  VIRGIL,  Boysen 55 

OLD  KALAPINE,  Boysen 62 

YOSEMITE  BASKETRY,  Boysen 66 

MRS.  ATKINSON'S  BASKETS,  Fiske 68 

INDIAN  BEAD  WORK,  Fiske 7° 


viii          LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

A  BASKET  MAKER,  Boy  sen 73 

MARY,  Boyscn 79 

HALF  DOME,  Foley 84 

A  BURDEN  BEARER,  Fiske 88 

NORTH  DOME,  Foley 91 

EL  CAPITAN,  Foley 93 

BRIDAL  VEIL  FALL,  Fiske 97 


nf 
Author       :;    •»!" 


ALEN  CLARK,  the  author  of  this  little 
volume,  is  one  of  the  notable  char 
acters  of  California,  and  the  one  best  fitted 
to  record  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the 
Yosemite  Indians,  but  it  was  only  after 
much  persuasion  that  his  friends  succeeded 
in  inducing  him  to  write  the  history  of  these 
interesting  people,  with  whom  he  has  been 
in  close  communication  for  half  a  century. 

The  Indians  of  the  Yosemite  are  fast 
passing  away.  Only  a  handful  now  remain 
of  the  powerful  tribes  that  once  gathered  in 
the  Valley  and  considered  it  an  absolute 
stronghold  against  their  white  enemies. 
Even  in  their  diminished  numbers  and  their 
comparatively  civilized  condition,  they  are 
still  a  source  of  great  interest  to  all  visitors, 
and  it  has  been  suggested  many  times  that 
their  history,  customs  and  legends  should 
be  put  in  permanent  and  convenient  form, 
before  they  are  entirely  lost. 

Many  tales  and  histories  of  the  California 
Indians  have  been  written  by  soldiers  and 


x  INTRODUCTION. 

.pioneers,  te  Mr.  Clark  has  told  the  story 
.  of  j  these  people  fiom  their  own  standpoint, 
a ild  with  a'.  Sympathetic  understanding  of 
their  character.  This  fresh  point  of  view 
gives  double  interest  to  his  narrative. 

Galen  Clark  comes  of  a  notable  family ; 
his  English  ancestors  came  to  the  State  of 
Massachusetts  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
but  he  is  a  native  of  the  Town  of  Dublin, 
Cheshire  County,  New  Hampshire,  born  on 
the  28th  day  of  March,  1814,  and  is  conse 
quently  nearly  ninety  years  of  age,  but  still 
alert  and  active  in  mind  and  body. 

He  attended  school  in  his  early  youth 
during  the  winter  months,  and  worked  on 
a  farm  during  the  summer,  leading  nearly 
the  same  life  which  was  followed  by  so 
many  others  who  afterwards  became  famous 
in  our  country's  history. 

Later  in  life  he  learned  chair-making  and 
painting,  an  occupation  which  he  followed 
for  some  years,  when  he  removed  to  Phila 
delphia  and  subsequently  to  New  York  Citv, 

Whilst  residing  in  New  York,  in  1853.  ne 
resolved,  after  mature  reflection,  to  visit  the 
new  Eldorado.  His  attention  was  first  at 
tracted  to  this  State  by  visiting  the  cele- 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

brated  Crystal  Palace  in  New  York,  where 
there  was  then  on  exhibition  quantities  of 
gold  dust  which  had  been  sent  or  brought 
East  by  successful  miners. 

Mr.  Clark  left  New  York  for  California 
in  October,  1853,  coming  via  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  and  in  due  time  reached  his 
destination.  In  1854  he  went  to  Mariposa 
County,  attracted  thither  by  the  wonderful 
accounts  of  the  gold  discoveries,  and  the 
marvelous  stories  he  had  heard  of  the 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  Yosemite  Valley 
and  the  surrounding  mountains. 

Upon  his  first  arrival  in  Mariposa,  he 
engaged  in  mining,  and  was  also  employed 
to  assist  in  surveying  Government  land  on 
the  west  side  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and 
canals  for  mining  purposes,  some  of  which 
passed  through  the  celebrated  "  Mariposa 
Grant,"  the  subject  of  prolonged  and  bitter 
litigation,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  He  probably  knows  more  about 
the .  actual  facts  concerning  the  Mariposa 
Grant  than  any  one  now  living,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  some  day  he  may  overcome 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

his  natural  repugnance  to  notoriety,  and 
give  to  the  public  the  benefit  of  his  knowl 
edge. 

In  the  year  1855  Mr-  Clark  made  his  first 
trip  into  the  Yosemite  Valley  with  a  party 
made  up  in  Mariposa  and  Bear  Valley. 

Returning  to  Mariposa,  he  resumed  his 
old  occupation  of  surveying  and  mining, 
and,  whilst  so  engaged,  by  reason  of  ex 
posure,  had  a  serious  attack  of  lung  trouble, 
resulting  in  severe  hemorrhages  which 
threatened  to  end  his  life. 

He  then  removed,  in  April,  1857,  to  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Merced  River,  and  built 
a  log  cabin  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
our  mountain  valleys,  on  the  spot  where 
Wawona  now  stands.  He  soon  recovered 
his  health  entirely,  and,  though  constantly 
exposed  to  the  winter  storms  and  snows, 
has  never  had  a  recurrence  of  his  malady. 

Wawona  is  twenty-six  miles  from  Yosem 
ite,  and  at  that  time  became  known  as 
Clark's  Station,  being  on  the  trail  leading 
from  Mariposa  to  the  Valley,  and  a  noted 
stopping  place  for  travelers.  This  trail,  as 
well  as  one  from  Coulterville,  was  completed 
to  j:he  Valley  in  1857,  and  the  trip  to 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

Yosemite  then  involved  a  stage  ride  of 
ninety-two  miles,  and  a  journey  of  sixty 
miles  more  on  horseback.  In  1874  and  1875 
the  three  present  stage  roads  were  con 
structed  through  to  the  Valley. 

All  travelers  by  the  Raymond  route  will 
remember  Wawona  and  the  surroundings; 
the  peaceful  valley,  the  swift-flowing 
Merced,  and  the  surrounding  peaks  and 
mountains,  almost  equaling  in  grandeur  the 
famous  Yosemite  itself. 

In  the  early  days  this  locality  was  an 
nually  visited  by  several  bands  of  Indians 
from  the  Chowchilla  and  Fresno  rivers.  The 
Indian  name  for  the  place  was  Pal-lah'- 
chun.  Whilst  residing  there  Mr.  Clark  was 
in  constant  contact  with  these  visiting 
tribes ;  he  obtained  their  confidence,  and 
retains  it  to  this  day. 

Whilst  on  a  hunting  trip,  in  the  summer 
of  1857,  Mr.  Clark  discovered  and  made 
known  to  the  public  the  famous  Big  Tree 
Grove,  now  known  all  over  the  world  as  the 
"  Mariposa  Grove  of  Big  Trees,"  belonging 
to  the  State  of  California.  On  this  expedi 
tion  he  did  not  follow  the  route  now 
traveled,  but  came  upon  the  grove  at  the 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

upper  end,  near  the  place  where  the  road  to 
Wawona  Point  now  branches  off  from  the 
main  drive.  The  spot  where  he  caught  his 
\  first  view  of  the  Big  Trees  has  been  appro 
priately  marked,  and  can  be  seen  from  the 
stage  road. 

So  impressed  was  Mr.  Clark  with  the  im 
portance  of  his  discovery,  that  he  opened  up 
a  good  horse  trail  from  Wawona  to  the 
Trees,  and  shortly  afterwards  built  a  log 
cabin  in  the  grove,  for  the  comfort  and  con 
venience  of  visitors  in  bad  or  stormy 
weather.  This  cabin  became  known  as 
"  Galen's  Hospice." 

In  the  year  1864  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  passed  an  Act,  which  was 
approved  in  June  of  the  same  year,  granting 
to  the  State  of  California  the  "  Yosemite 
Valley  "  and  the  "  Mariposa  Grove  of  Big 
Trees."  This  grant  was  made  upon  certain 
conditions,  which  were  complied  with  by  the 
State,  and  a  Commission  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Low  to  manage  and  govern  the 
Valley  and  the  Big  Tree  Grove.  Galen  Clark 
was,  of  course,  selected  as  one  of  the  com 
missioners.  He  was  subsequently  appointed 
Guardian  of  the  Valley,  and  under  his  ad- 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

ministration  many  needed  improvements 
were  made  and  others  suggested.  Bridges 
were  built,  roads  constru  ted  on  the  floor  of 
the  Valley,  and  trails  laid  out  and  finished  to 
various  points  of  interest  overlooking  the 
Valley  itself.  In  a  word,  the  Guardian  did 
everything  possible  with  the  limited  means 
at  his  disposal. 

After  serving  twenty-four  years,  Mr. 
Clark  voluntarily  retired  from  the  position 
of  Guardian,  carrying  with  him  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  every  member  of  the 
Commission,  of  all  the  residents  of  the 
Valley,  and  of  every  visitor  who  enjoyed  the 
pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaintance. 

As  showing  the  opinion  of  those  with 
whom  Mr.  Clark  was  intimately  and 
officially  associated  for  so  long  a  time,  the 
following  resolutions  passed  by  the  Board 
of  Commissioners  upon  his  voluntary  retire 
ment  from  the  office  of  Guardian,  are  herein 
given : 

WHEREAS,  Galen  Clark  has  for  a  long  number 
of  years  been  closely  identified  with  Yosemite 
Valley,  and  has  for  a  considerable  portion  of  that 
time  been  its  Guardian;  and 

WHEREAS,  he  has  now,  by  his  own  choice  and 
will,  relinquished  the  trust  confided  in  him  and 
retired  into  private  life ;  and 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

WHEREAS,  his  faithful  and  eminent  services  as 
Guardian,  his  constant  efforts  to  preserve,  protect 
and  enhance  the  beauties  of  Yosemite ;  his  digni 
fied,  kindly  and  courteous  demeanor  to  all  who 
have  come  to  see  and  enjoy  its  wonders,  and  his 
upright  and  noble  life,  deserve  from  us  a  fitting 
recognition  and  memorial ;  Now,  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  cordial  assurance  of  the 
appreciation  by  this  Commission  of  the  efforts 
and  labors  of  Galen  Clark,  as  Guardian  of 
Yosemite,  in  its  behalf,  be  tendered  and  expressed 
to  him. 

That  we  recognize  in  him  a  faithful,  efficient 
and  worthy  citizen  and  officer  of  this  Commission 
and  of  the  State ;  that  he  will  be  followed  into 
his  retirement  by  the  sincerest  and  best  wishes  of 
this  Commission,  individually  and  as  a  body, 
for  continued  long  life  and  constant  happiness. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the 
most  modest  of  men ;  but  perfectly  self- 
reliant,  and  always  actively  engaged  in  some 
useful  work.  He  has  resided  in  the  Valley 
for  more  than  twenty  summers,  and  has  also 
been  a  resident  during  many  winters,  and 
his  descriptions  of  the  Valley,  when  wrapped 
in  snow  and  ice,  are  intensely  interesting. 
Though  always  ready  to  give  information, 
he  is  naturally  reticent,  and  never  forces  his 
stories  or  reminiscences  upon  visitors ;  in 
deed  it  requires  some  persuasion  to  hear  him 
talk  about  himself  at  all. 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 

For  some  years  Mr.  Clark  was  postmaster 
of  Yosemite ;  and  he  has  made  many  trips  on 
foot,  both  in  winter  and  summer,  in  and  out 
of  the  Valley. 

In  September,  1903,  this  writer  made  a 
trip  through  the  high  Sierras  from  Yosem 
ite,  and,  upon  reaching  the  top  of  the  Valley, 
Mr.  Clark  was  met  coming  down  the  trail, 
having  in  charge  a  party  of  his  friends, 
amongst  whom  was  a  lady  with  her  two 
small  children.  This  was  at  a  point  2700 
feet  above  the  floor  of  the  Valley,  which  is 
itself  4000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Needless  to  say,  he  is  perfectly  familiar 
with  all  the  mountain  trails,  and,  notwith 
standing  his  great  age,  he  easily  makes 
long  trips  on  foot  and  horseback  which 
would  fatigue  a  much  younger  man.  Mr. 
Clark  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  flora, 
fauna  and  geology  of  the  Valley  and  its  sur 
roundings.  His  knowledge  of  botany  is 
particularly  accurate,  a  knowledge  gleaned 
partly  from  books,  but  mainly  from  close 
personal  observation,  the  best  possible 
teacher. 

His  long  residence  in  Yosemite  has  made 
him  familiar  with  every  spot,  his  love  for 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  Valley  is  deep  and  strong,  and  when  he 
departs  this  life  his  remains  will  rest  close 
to  the  Yosemite  Falls,  in  the  little  grave 
yard  where  other  pioneers  are  buried. 

With  his  own  hands  he  has  dug  his  grave, 
and  quarried  his  own  tombstone  from  one 
of  the  massive  blocks  of  granite  found  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood.  His  monu 
ment  now  rests  in  his  grave,  and  when  it  is 
removed  to  receive  his  remains,  will  be  used 
to  mark  his  last  resting  place.  His  grave  is 
surrounded  by  a  neat  fence,  and  trees, 
shrubs  and  vines,  which  he  has  himself 
planted,  grow  around  in  great  profusion. 
In  each  corner  of  the  lot  is  a  young  Sequoia. 

May  it  be  many  years  before  he  is  called 
to  occupy  his  last  earthly  tenement. 

W.  W.  Foom 
San  Francisco, 

February,  1904. 


INDIANS    OF   THE 
YOSEMITE 


Photograph  In/  Make. 

YOSEMITK  FALLS  (CHO'-LACK), 

2,634  Feet. 

Near  the  foot  of  these  falls  was  located  the  village  of  Ah-  wah'- 
uee,  the  Indian  capital  and  residence  of  Chief  Tenelya. 
There  were  eight  other  villages  In  the  Valley. 


4          INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

chief,  left  the  Mo'nos,  where  he  had  been 
born  and  brought  up,  and,  gathering  some 
of  his  father's  old  tribe  around  him,  visited 
the  Valley  and  claimed  it  as  the  birthright  of 
his  people.  He  then  became  the  founder  of 
a  new  tribe  or  band,  which  received  the 
name  "  Yo-sem'-i-te."  This  word  signifies 
a  full-grown  grizzly  bear,  and  Teneiya  said 
that  the  name  had  been  given  to  his  band 
because  they  occupied  the  mountains  and 
valleys  which  were  the  favorite  resort  of  the 
grizzly  bears,  and  his  people  were  expert  in 
killing  them ;  that  his  tribe  had  adopted  the 
name  because  those  who  had  bestowed  it 
were  afraid  of  the  grizzlies,  and  also  feared 
his  band. 

The  Yosemites  were  perhaps  the  most 
warlike  of  any  of  the  tribes  in  this  part  of 
the  Sierra  Xevada  Mountains,  who  were,  as 
a  rule,  a  peaceful  people,  dividing  the  terri 
tory  among  them,  and  indulging  in  few'con- 
troversies.  In  fact,  these  Indians  in  general 
were  less  belligerent  and  warlike  than  any 
others  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  When  difficul 
ties  arose,  they  were  usually  settled  peace 
fully  by  arbitration,  in  a  grand  council  of 


EARLY  HISTOKF. 

the  chiefs  and  head  men  of  i 

volved,  wttbocrr 


Other  barjd<  -of  Indian?  in  ttbe  TxM 
the  Yosemh*'  Vallev  wsre  ^j«e  Bo-biv- 
irhc-  Irrsed  ue^r  tbe  r:A."^-;.reis  o 
'-Tjo  or  Biidal  V«al 
and  on  the  Scin 

in  TrrnteT,  aVert 

:  the  Pcv-t 
the  Merced  Tviver  : 
rmine  Ivrrer:  Xoci'-chcics 
la^    ChowchiRa    Valle: 


San 


^e  triV*.  rah?dmc  th 
ne  all  sorrsesrhat  atfiKa^ed  ^T 
cestry  c«-  br  intenTvarna^,  aud 
in  their  ^pn«ral  cba-na^eri<6cs  and  cnstx 
The  were  aB  catkvl  by  the  earfy  CaSforai* 
D%^w  Tm^an^'"'  as  a  iserm  ^ 
isJon,  on  accocnt  oC  thesr 

and  from  their  p 

the  tc^ert>n<  rxvss  of  certain  native 
food 


6  INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

INDIAN   WAR  OF   1851. 

Dr.  Bunnell,  in  his  book  already  referred 
to,  has  given  the  soldiers'  and  white  men's 
account  of  the  cause  of  the  Indian  war  of 
1851,  but  a  statement  of  the  grievances  on 
the  part  of  the  Indians,  which  caused  the 
uniting  of  all  the  different  tribes  in  the  min 
ing  region  adjacent  to  Yosemite,  in  an  at 
tempt  to  drive  the  white  invaders  from  their 
country,  has  never  been  published,  and  a 
brief  account  of  these  grievances  may  be 
interesting. 

AGGRESSIONS  BY  THE  WHITE  SETTLERS. 

The  first  parties  of  prospecting  miners 
were  welcomed  by  the  Indians  with  their 
usual  friendliness  and  hospitality  toward 
strangers — a  universal  characteristic  of 
these  tribes, — and  the  mining  for  gold  was 
watched  with  great  interest.  They  soon 
learned  the  value  of  the  gold  dust,  and  some 
of  them  engaged  in  mining,  and  exchanged 
their  gold  at  the  trading  stations  for 
blankets  and  fancy  trinkets,  at  an  enormous 
profit  to  the  traders,  and  peace  and  good 
feeling  prevailed  for  a  short  time. 


EARLY  HISTORY.  7 

The  reports  of  the  rich  gold  "  dig-gin's" 
on  the  waters  of  the  Tuolumne,  Merced, 
Mariposa,  Chowchilla,  and  Fresno  Rivers, 
soon  spread,  and  miners  by  thousands  came 
and  took  possession  of  the  whole  country, 
paying  no  regard  to  the  natural  rights  or 
wishes  of  the  Indians. 

Some  of  the  Indian  chiefs  made  the 
proposition  that  if  the  miners  would  give 
them  some  of  the  gold  which  they  found  in 
their  part  of  the  country,  they  might  stay 
and  work.  This  offer  was  not  listened  to  by 
the  miners,  and  a  large  majority  of  the 
white  invaders  treated  the  natives  as  though 
they  had  no  rights  whatever  to  be  respected. 
In  some  instances,  where  Indians  had  found 
and  were  working  good  mining  claims,  they 
were  forcibly  driven  away  by  white  miners, 
who  took  possession  of  their  claims  and 
worked  them. 

Moreover,  the  Indians  saw  that  their 
main  sources  of  food  supply  were  being 
rapidly  destroyed.  The  oak  trees,  which 
produced  the  acorns — one  of  their  staple 
articles  of  food, — were  being  cut  down  and 
burned  by  miners  and  others  in  clearing  up 
land  for  cultivation,  and  the  deer  and  other 


Copyrighted  Photograph  by  Boysen. 

AN    INDIAN    DANCER. 
Chow-chll-la  Indian  in  full  war-dance  costume. 


EARLY  HISTORY.  9 

food  game  were  being  rapidly  killed  off  or 
driven  from  the  locality. 

In  the  "  early  days,"  before  California 
was  admitted  as  a  free  State  into  the  Union, 
it  was  reported,  and  was  probably  true,  that 
some  of  the  immigrants  from  the  slave- 
holding  States  took  Indians  and  made  slaves 
of  them  in  working  their  mining  claims.  It 
was  no  uncommon  event  for  the  sanctity  of 
their  homes  and  families  to  be  invaded  by 
some  of  the  "  baser  sort,"  and  young  women 
taken,  willing  or  not,  for  servants  and  wives. 

RETALIATION. 

In  retaliation,  and  as  some  compensation 
for  these  many  grievous  outrages  upon  their 
natural  inalienable  rights  of  domain  and 
property,  and  their  native  customs,  the 
Indians  stole  horses  and  mules  from  the 
white  settlers,  and  killed  them  for  food  for 
their  families,  who,  in  many  instances,  were 
in  a  condition  of  starvation. 

Finally  the  chiefs  and  leading  men  of  all 
the  tribes  involved  met  in  a  grand  council, 
and  resolved  to  combine  their  warrior  forces 
in  one  great  effort  to  drive  all  their  white 
enemies  from  the  country,  before  they 
became  more  numerous  and  formidable. 


TO         INDIANS  OF/THE   Y  OS  EM  IT  E. 
BEGINNING    OF    HOSTILITIES. 

To  prepare  for  this  struggle  for  exist 
ence,  they  made  raids  upon  some  of  the 
principal  trading  posts  in  the  mining  sec 
tions,  killed  those  in  charge,  took  all  the 
blankets,  clothing  and  provisions  they  could 
carry  away,  and  fled  to  the  mountains, 
where  they  \vere  soon  pursued  by  the  sol 
diers  and  volunteer  citizens,  and  a  spirited 
battle  was  fought  without  any  decisive  ad 
vantage  to  either  side. 

The  breaking  out  of  actual  hostilities 
created  great  excitement  among  the  whites, 
and  an  urgent  call  was  made  upon  the  Gov 
ernor  of  the  State  for  a  military  force  to 
meet  the  emergency,  and  protect  the  settlers 
—a  force  strong  enough  to  thoroughly  sub 
due  the  Indians,  and  remove  all  of  them  to 
reservations  to  be  selected  by  the  United 
States  Indian  Commissioners  for  that 
purpose. 

Meantime  the  Governor  and  the  Com 
missioners,  who  had  then  arrived,  were 
receiving  numerous  communications,  many 
of  them  from  persons  in  high  official  posi 
tions,  earnestly  urging  a  more  humane  and 
just  policy,  averring  that  the  Indians  had 


EARLY  HISTORY.  11 

real  cause  for  complaint,  that  they  had  been 
"  more  sinned  against  than  sinning  "  since 
the  settling  of  California  by  the  whites,  and 
that  they  were  justly  entitled  to  protection 
by  the  Government  and  compensation  for 
the  spoliations  and  grievances  they  had 
suffered. 

These  protests  doubtless  had  some  in 
fluence  in  delaying  hostile  measures,  and  in 
the  inauguration  of  efforts  to  induce  the 
Indians  to  come  in  and  treat  with  the  Com 
missioners,  envoys  being  sent  out  to  assure 
them  of  fair  treatment  and  personal  safety. 
Many  of  the  Indians  accepted  these  offers, 
and,  as  the  different  tribes  surrendered,  they 
were  taken  to  the  two  reservations  which 
the  Commissioners  had  established  for  them 
on  the  Fresno  River,  the  principal  one  being 
a  few  miles  above  the  place  where  the  town 
of  Madera  is  now  located. 

As  before  stated,  these  Indians  were  not 
a  warlike  people.  Their  only  weapons  were 
their  bows  and  arrows,  and  these  they  soon 
found  nearly  useless  in  .  defending  them 
selves  at  long  range  against  soldiers  armed 
with  rifles.  Moreover,  their  stock  of  provi- 


12         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

sions  was  so  limited  that  they  either  had  to 
surrender  or  starve. 


DISCOVERY  OF  YOSDMITE 

The  Yosemites  and  one  or  two  other  bands 
of  Indians  had  refused  to  surrender,  and 
had  retreated  to  their  mountain  strongholds, 
where  they  proposed  to  make  a  last  deter 
mined  resistance.  Active  preparations  were 
accordingly  made  by  the  State  authorities  to 
follow  them,  and  either  capture  or  exter 
minate  all  the  tribes  involved.  For  this  pur 
pose  a  body  of  State  volunteers,  known  as 
the  Mariposa  Battalion,  was  organized, 
under  the  command  of  Major  James  D. 
Savage,  to  pursue  these  tribes  into  the 
mountains  ;  and,  after  many  long  marches 
and  some  righting,  the  Indians  were  all  de 
feated,  captured,  and,  with  their  women  and 
children,  put  upon  the  reservations  under 
strong  military  guard. 

It  was  during  this  campaign  that 
Major  Savage  and  his  men  discovered  the 
Yosemite  Valley,  about  the  2ist  of  March, 
1851,  while  in  pursuit  of  the  Yosemites, 
under  old  Chief  Teneiya,  for  whom  Lake 
Teneiya  and  Teneiya  Canyon  have  appro 
priately  been  named. 


Photograph  by   Foleij. 

THREE:  BROTHERS  (WAW-IIAW'-KEE), 

3,900  Feet. 

Named  by  the  soldiers  who  discovered  the  Valley,  to  com 
memorate  the  capture  of  the  three  sons  of  Tenelya  near 
this  place  The  Indian  name  means  "Falling  Rocks." 


Stun. 

EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  Yosemites  and  all  of  the  other  tribes 
named  in  the  previous  chapter  were  put 
upon  the  Fresno  reservation.  Major  Sav 
age,  who  had  been  the  leading  figure  in  the 
war  against  the  Indians,  was  perhaps  their 
best  friend  while  in  captivity,  and  finally 
lost  his  life  in  a  personal  quarrel,  while 
resenting  a  wrong  which  had  been  com 
mitted  against  them. 

The  tribes  from  south  of  the  San  Joaquin 
River,  who  were  also  conquered  in  1851, 
were  put  upon  the  Kings  River  and  Tejon 
(Tay-hone')  reservations. 

UFE    ON    THE)    RESERVATIONS. 

Ample  food  supplies,  blankets,  clothing 
and  cheap  fancy  articles  were  furnished  by 
the  Government  for  the  subsistence,  com 
fort  and  pleasure  of  the  Indians  on  the  res 
ervations,  and  for  a  short  time  they  seemed 
to  be  contented,  and  to  enjoy  the  novelty 
of  their  new  mode  of  life.  The  young,  able- 
bodied  men  were  put  to  work  assisting  in 


EFFECTS  OF   THE   WAR.  15 

clearing,  fencing  and  cultivating  fields  for 
hay  and  vegetables,  and  thus  they  were  par 
tially  self-supporting.  A  large  portion  of 
them,  however,  soon  began  to  tire  of  the 
restraints  imposed,  and  longed  for  their 
former  condition  of  freedom,  and  many  of 
them  sickened  and  died. 

Old  Teneiya,  chief  of  the  "  Grizzlies," 
was  particularly  affected  by  the  change  in 
his  surroundings,  and  by  the  humiliation  of 
defeat.  He  suffered  keenly  from  the  hot 
weather  of  the  plains,  after  his  free  life  in 
the  mountains,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
return  to  his  old  home,  promising  not  to  dis 
turb  the  white  settlers  in  any  way,  a  pledge 
which  he  did  not  break. 

DEATH    OF    TENEIYA. 

Teneiya  was  finally  allowed  to  depart, 
with  his  family,  after  having  been  on  the 
reservation  only  a  few  months,  and  some  of 
his  old  followers  afterwards  stole  away  and 
joined  him.  With  this  remnant  of  his  band 
he  returned  to  the  Yosemite,  but  not  long 
afterwards  they  were  set  upon  by  the 
Monos,  a  tribe  from  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Sierras,  with  whom  they  had  quarreled,  and 
the  old  chief  and  many  of  his  warriors  were 


16         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

killed.  It  was  perhaps  fitting  that  he  should 
meet  his  death  in  the  valley  which  he  loved, 
and  which  he  had  so  long  defended  against 
his  enemies. 

RESTORED    TO    LIBERTY. 

In  1855,  after  four  years  of  confinement 
on  the  reservations,  an  agreement  war  made 
with  the  Indian  Commissioners,  by  the  head 
men  of  the  tribes,  that  if  their  people  were 
again  allowed  their  freedom,  they  would 
forever  remain  in  peace  with  the  white  set 
tlers,  and  try  and  support  themselves  free  of 
expense  to  the  Government.  They  were 
soon  permitted  to  leave,  and  have  ever  since 
faithfully  kept  their  promise. 

Most  of  them  went  back  to  the  vicinity  of 
their  old  homes,  and  made  temporary  settle 
ments  on  unoccupied  Government  land,  as 
many  of  their  old  village  sites  were  now  in 
possession  of  white  settlers.  As  there  was  a 
very  large  crop  of  acorns  that  season,  they 
gathered  an  abundant  supply  for  winter  use, 
and,  with  what  was  given  to  them  in  the 
way  of  food  and  clothing  by  some  of  the 
white  settlers,  they  managed  to  get  through 
the  winter  fairly  well. 


Photograph  by  Foley. 

CAPTAIN    PAUL. 

One  of  the  characters  of  the  Valley.    Supposed  to  be  at  least 
105  years  old,  and  a  survivor  of  Tenelya's  band. 


i8         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEM1TE. 

HARDSHIP    AND    SUFFERING. 

Their  four  years'  residence  on  the  reser 
vations,  however,  had  been  more  of  a  school 
in  the  vices  of  the  whites  than  one  of  a 
higher  education.  They  became  demoral 
ized  socially,  addicted  to  many  bad  habits, 
and  left  the  reservations  in  worse  condition 
than  when  they  were  taken  there.  Their  old 
tribal  relations  and  customs  were  nearly 
broken  up,  though  they  still  had  their  head 
men  to  whom  they  looked  for  counsel  in  all 
important  matters. 

As  the  country  became  more  settled,  much 
of  their  main  food  supply,  the  acorns,  was 
consumed  by  the  domestic  animals  of  the 
ranchers,  and  their  mode  of  living  became 
more  precarious  and  transitory,  and  many 
of  them  were,  at  times,  in  a  condition  near 
to  starvation.  In  these  straitened  and 
desperate  circumstances,  many  of  their 
young  women  were  used  as  commercial 
property,  and  peddled  out  to  the  mining 
camps  and  gambling  saloons  for  money  to 
buy  food,  clothing  or  whisky,  this  latter  arti 
cle  being  obtained  through  the  aid  of  some 
white  person,  in  violation  of  law. 


EFFECTS  OF   THE   WAR.  19 

Their  miserable,  squalid  condition  of  liv 
ing  opened  the  way  for  diseases  of  a  malig 
nant  character,  which  their  medicine  men 
could  not  cure,  and  their  numbers  were  rap 
idly  reduced  by  death. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  not  in  exist 
ence  a  half-dozen  of  the  old  Yosemites  who 
were  living,  even  as  children,  when  the  Val 
ley  was  first  discovered  in  1851  ;  and  many 
of  the  other  tribes  have  been  correspond 
ingly  reduced. 


Photograph  by  Jloysen. 

YOSEMIT£    MOTHER    AND    PAPOOSE). 

The  baby  basket  is  carried  on  the  back,  like  all  burdens,  and 
supported  by  a  band  across  the  forehead. 


CUSTOMS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS. 

As  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  all  of  the 
Indian  tribes  occupying  the  region  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  were  mdre 
or  less  affiliated  by  blood  and  intermarriage, 
and  resembled  each  other  in  their  customs, 
characteristics  and  religious  beliefs.  What 
is  said,  therefore,  on  these  subjects  in  the 
following  pages,  will  be  understood  to  apply 
generally  to  all  of  the  tribes  which  have 
been  mentioned  as  inhabiting  this  region, 
although,  of  course,  minor  differences  did 
exist,  principally  due  to  environment.  As  in 
the  case  of  all  primitive  peoples,  their  mode 
of  life,  food  supply,  etc.,  were  largely  deter 
mined  by  natural  conditions,  and  the  tribes 
living  in  the  warm  foot-hills  differed  some 
what  in  these  respects  from  those  dwelling 
higher  in  the  mountains. 

DIVISION    OF    TERRITORY. 

In  their  original  tribal  settlements,  at  the 
time  the  first  pioneer  whites  came  among 
them,  the  Indians  had  well  defined  or  under- 


22         INDIANS  OF  THE  YO SEMITE. 

stood  boundary  lines,  between  the  territories 
claimed  by  each  tribe  for  their  exclusive  use 
in  hunting  game  and  gathering  means  of 
support ;  and  any  trespassing  on  the  domain 
of  others  was  likely  to  cause  trouble.  This 
arrangement,  however,  did  not  apply  to  the 
higher  ranges  of  the  Sierras,  which  were 
considered  common  hunting  ground. 

COMMERCE    AMONG    THE    TRIBES. 

As  there  was  a  difference  in  the  natural 
products  and  resources  of  different  sections 
of  the  country,  there  was  a  system  of  recip 
rocal  trade  in  the  exchange  of  the  differ 
ent  desirable  commodities.  Sometimes  com 
merce  between  tribes  extended  for  a  long 
distance,  as,  for  instance,  the  Indians  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun 
tains  were  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
Pai-utes  (Pye-yutes')  on  the  eastern  side 
for  the  obsidian,  a  kind  of  volcanic  glass, 
from  which  they  made  the  points  for  their 
most  deadly  arrows,  used  in  hunting  large 
game  or  when  in  mortal  combat  with  their 
enemies.  They  were  also  dependent  upon 
the  Pai-utes  for  their  supply  of  salt  for 
domestic  use,  which  came  in  solid  blocks  as 


CUSTOMS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS.   23 

quarried   from   salt   mines,   said   to  be  two 
days'  travel  on  foot  from  Mono  Lake. 

From  the  Indians  at  or  near  the  Catholic 
Missions  to  the  South,  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
they  got  their  hunting  knives  of  iron  or 
steel,  and  sea  shells  of  various  kinds,  for 
personal  or  dress  ornaments,  and  also  to  be 
used  as  money.  From  the  same  source  they 
obtained  beads  of  various  forms,  sizes  and 
colors,  cheap  jewelry  and  other  fancy  arti 
cles,  a  few  blankets,  and  pieces  of  red  bunt 
ing,  strips  of  which  the  chiefs  and  head 
men  wore  around  their  heads  as  badges,  in 
dicating  their  official  positions. 

COMMUNICATION. 

They  had  a  very  efficient  system  of 
quickly  spreading  important  news  by  relays 
of  special  couriers,  who  took  the  news  to 
the  first  stations  or  tribes  in  different  direc 
tions,  where  others  took  the  verbal  dispatches 
and  ran  to  the  next  station,  and  so  on,  so 
that  all  tribes  within  an  area  of  a  hundred 
miles  would  get  the  good  or  bad  tidings 
within  a  few  hours.  Tn  this  manner  impor 
tant  communication  was  kept  up  between 
the  different  tribes. 


24         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

They  also  had  well  organized 'signal  sys 
tems,  by  fires  in  the  night  and  smoke  by 
day,  on  high  points  of  observation — varia 
tions  in  the  lights  (either  steady,  bright  or 
flashing)  indicating  somewhat  the  character 
of  the  tidings  thus  given. 

DWJXUNGS. 

Their  winter  huts,  or  o'-chums,  as  they 
termed  them,  were  invariably  of  a  conical 
form,  made  with  small  poles,  and  covered 
with  the  bark  of  the  incense  cedar  (Liboce- 
drus  dccurrens).  A  few  poles  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long  were  set  in  the  ground  around  an 
area  of  about  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  with 
their  tops  inclined  together.  The  outside 
was  then  closely  covered  with  long  strips  of 
the  cedar  bark,  making  it  perfectly  water 
tight.  An  opening  was  left  on  the  south 
side  for  an  entrance,  which  could  be  readily 
closed  with  a  portable  door.  An  opening- 
was  also  left  at  the  top  for  the  escape  of  the 
smoke,  a  fire  being  kindled  in  the  center 
inside. 

One  of  these  huts  would  hold  a  family  of 
a  half-dozen  persons,  with  all  their  house 
hold  property,  dogs  included ;  and  there  is 


Di-dirhnj  by  •/oryeitxoi. 

INDIAN   (/-CHUM. 


26         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

no  other  form  of  a  single-room  dwelling 
that  can  be  kept  warm  and  comfortable  in 
cold  weather  with  so  little  fire,  as  this  Indian 
o'-c/inm. 

Their  under-bedding  usually  consisted  of 
the  skins  of  bears,  deer,  antelope  or  elk,  and 
the  top  covering  was  a  blanket  or  robe  made 
of  the  skins  of  small  fur-bearing  animals, 
such  as  rabbits,  hares,  wildcats  and  foxes. 
The  skins  were  cut  in  narrow  strips,  which 
were  loosely  twisted  so  as  to  bring  the  fur 
entirely  around  on  the  outside,  and  then 
woven  into  a  warp  of  strong  twine  made  of 
the  fine,  tough,  fibrous  bark  of  a  variety  of 
milkweed  (Asclepias  spcciosa).  These  fur 
robes  were  very  warm,  and  were  also  used 
as  wraps  when  traveling  in  cold  weather. 

During  the  warm  summer  season  they 
generally  lived  outside  in  brush  arbors,  and 
used  their  o'-chums  as  storage  places. 

CLOTHING. 

Their  clothing  was  very  simple  and  scant, 
before  being  initiated  into  the  use  of  a  more 
ample  and  complete  style  of  covering  while 
living  at  the  reservations.  The  ordinary  full 
complement  of  dress  for  a  man  (Nung'-ah) 


Drawing  by  Jorgensen. 

YOSEMITE   MAIDEN    IN   NATIVE  DRESS. 

This  buckskin  costume  has  now  been  replaced  by  the  un- 
picturesque  calico  of  civilization. 


28         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

was  simply  a  breech-clout,  or  short  hip-skirt 
made  of  skins;  that  for  a  woman  (O'-hoh) 
was  a  skirt  reaching  from  the  waist  to  the 
knees,  made  of  dressed  deer-skin  finished  at 
the  bottom  with  a  slit  fringe,  and  sometimes 
decorated  with  various  fancy  ornaments. 
Both  men  and  women  frequently  wore 
moccasins  made  of  dressed  deer  or  elk  skin. 
Young  dhildren  generally  went  entirely 
nude. 

CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  Indians  of  the  various  tribes  in  this 
part  of  the  Sierras  vary  somewhat  in  physi 
cal  characteristics,  but  in  general  are  of 
medium  height,  strong,  lean  and  agile,  and 
the  men  are  usually  fine  specimens  of  man 
hood.  They  are  rather  light  in  color,  but 
frequently  rub  their  bodies  with  some  kind 
of  oil,  which  gives  the  flesh  a  much  redder 
and  more  glossy  appearance.  The  hair  is 
black  and  straight,  and  the  eyes  are  black 
and  deep  set.  The  beard  is  sparse,  and  in 
former  times  was  not  allowed  to  grow  at 
all,  each  hair  being  pulled  out  with  a  rude 
kind  of  tweezers.  They  are  naturally  of  a 
gentle  and  friendly  disposition,  but  their 


CUSTOMS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS.  29 

experience  with  the  white  race  has  made 
them  distant  and  uncommunicative  to 
strangers. 

Most  of  the  older  Indians  still  cling  to 
their  old  customs  >and  manner  of  living,  and 
are  very  slow  to  learn  or  talk  our  language, 
but  the  younger  ones  are  striving  to  live  like 
the  white  people,  and  seem  proud  to  adopt 
our  style  of  dress  and  manner  of  cooking. 
They  all  speak  our  language  plainly,  and 
some  few  of  them  attend  the  public  schools 
when  living  near  by,  and  acquire  very  read 
ily  the  common  rudiments  of  an  education. 

Their  style  of  architecture  is  in  a  state 
of  transition,  like  themselves.  Their  old 
o'-chum  form  of  dwelling  is  now  very  sel 
dom  seen — a  rude  building  of  more  roomy 
and  modern  design  having  taken  its  place. 

All  the  able-bodied  men  &re  ready  and 
willing  to  work  at  any  kind  of  common 
labor,  when  they  have  an  opportunity,  and 
have  learned  to  want  nearly  the  same 
amount  of  pay  as  a  white  man  for  the  same 
work. 

As  a  rule,  they  are  trustworthy,  and  when 
confidence  is  placed  in  their  honesty  it  is 
very  rarely  betrayed.  During  nearly  the 


30         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

past  fifty  years,  a  great  many  thousands  of 
people  have  visited  the  Yosemite  Valley 
with  their  own  camping  outfits,  and,  during 
the  day,  and  often  all  night,  are  absent  on 
distant  trips  of  observation,  with  no  one  left 
in  charge  of  camp,  yet  there  has  never  to  my 
knowledge  been  an  instance  of  anything 
being  stolen  or  molested  by  Indians.  There 
are,  however,  some  dishonest  Indians,  who 
will  steal  from  their  own  people,  and  some 
times,  when  a  long  distance  from  their  own 
camp,  they  may  steal  from  the  whites.  A 
few,  if  they  can  get  whisky,  through  the 
aid  of  some  white  person,  will  become  drunk 
and  fight . among  themselves,  and  occasion 
ally  one  of  them  may  be  killed;  but,  as  a 
rule,  they  are  peaceful  and  orderly,  and  hold 
sacred  the  promise  made  to  the  Indian  Com 
missioners  by  the  old  tribal  chiefs,  when  re 
leased  from  confinement  on  the  reservations, 
that  they  would  forever  keep  the  peace,  and 
never  again  make  war  against  the  white 
people. 


(Uljapier  Jfaur. 

SOURCES  OF  FOOD  SUPPLY. 

The  food  supply  of  the  Sierra  Indians 
was  extensive  and  abundant,  consisting  of 
the  flesh  of  deer,  antelope,  elk  and  mustang 
horses,  together  with  fish,  water-fowls, 
birds,  acorns,  berries,  pine  nuts,  esculent 
herbage  and  the  tuberous  roots  of  certain 
plants,  all  of  which  were  easily  obtained, 
even  with  their  simple  and  limited  means  of 
securing  them.  Mushrooms,  fungi,  grass 
hoppers,  worms  and  the  larvae  of  ants  and 
other  insects,  were  also  eaten,  and  some 
of  these  articles  were  considered  great 
delicacies. 

J1UNTING. 

Their  main  effective  weapons  for  hunting 
large  game  were  their  bows  and  obsidian- 
pointed  arrows.  Their  manner  of  hunting 
was  either  by  the  stealthy  still  hunt,  or  a 
general  turn-out,  surrounding  a  large  area 
of  favorable  country  and  driving  to  a  com 
mon  center,  where  at  close  range  the 


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FOOD  SUPPLY.  33 

hunters  could  sometimes  make  an  extensive 
slaughter. 

When  on  the  still  hunt  for  deer  in  the 
brushy,  sparsely  timbered  foothills  of  the 
Sierra  Range  of  mountains,  or  higher  up  in 
the  extensive  forests,  some  of  the  hunters 
wore  for  a  headgear  a  false  deer's  head,  by 
which  deceptive  device  they  were  enabled  to 
get  to  a  closer  and  more  effective  range  with 
their  bows  and  arrows.  This  head-dress 
was  made  of  the  whole  skin  of  a  doe's  head, 
with  a  part  of  the  neck,  the  head  part  stuffed 
with  light  material,  the  eyeholes  filled  in 
with  the  green  feathered  scalp  of  a  duck's 
head,  and  the  top  furnished  with  light 
wooden  horns,  the  branching  stems  of  the 
manzanita  (Arctostaphylos)  being  generally 
used  for  this  purpose.  The  neck  part  was 
made  to  fit  on  the  hunter's  head  and  fasten 
with  strings  tied  under  the  chin.  This 
unique  style  of  headgear  was  used  by  some 
Indian  hunters  for  many  years  after  they 
had  guns  to  hunt  with. 

The  high  ranges  of  the  mountains,  as 
already  stated,  were  considered  common 
hunting  ground  by  the  different  tribes.  The 
deer,  many  of  them,  were  in  some  degree 


T 


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FOOD  SUPPLY.  35 

migratory  in  their  habits,  being  driven  from 
the  higher  ranges  to  the  foothills  by  the 
deep  winter  snows,  and  in  the  spring  follow 
ing  close  to  the  melting,  receding  snow,  back 
again  to  their  favorite  summer  haunts. 

Late  in  the  summer,  or  early  in  the  fall, 
just  before  holding  some  of  their  grand 
social  or  sacred  festivals,  the  Indian  hunters 
would  make  preparation  for  a  big  hunt  in 
the  mountains,  to  get  a  good  supply  of  veni 
son  for  the  feast.  One  of  the  first  absolute 
prerequisites  was  to  go  through  a  thorough 
course  of  sweating  and  personal  cleansing. 
This  was  done  by  resorting  to  their  sweat 
houses,  which  were  similar  in  construction 
to  the  o'- chums,  except  that  the  top  was 
rounded  and  the  whole  structure  was  cov 
ered  thickly  with  mud  and  earth  to  exclude 
the  air.  These  houses  were  heated  with  hot 
stones  and  coals  of  fire,  and  the  hunters 
would  then  crawl  into  them  and  remain  until 
in  a  profuse  perspiration,  when  they  would 
come  out  and  plunge  into  cold  water  for 
a  wash-off.  This  was  repeated  until  they 
thought  themselves  sufficiently  free  from  all 
bodily  odor  so  that  the  deer  could  not  detect 
their  approach  by  scent,  and  flee  for  safety. 


36         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

After  this  purification  they  kept  them 
selves  strictly  as  celibates  until  the  hunt  was 
over,  though  their  women  went  along  to 
help  carry  the  outfit,  keep  camp,  cook,  search 
for  berries  and  pine  nuts,  and  assist  in 
bringing  to  camp  and  taking  care  of  the 
deer  as  killed,  and  in  "  packing  "  the  meat 
out  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  appointed  for 
the  grand  ceremonies  and  feast. 

Their  usual  manner  of  cooking  fresh  meat 
was  by  broiling  on  hot  coals,  or  roasting 
before  the  fire  or  in  the  embers.  Sometimes, 
however,  they  made  a  cavity  in  the  ground, 
in  which  they  built  a  fire,  which  was  after 
wards  cleared  away  and  the  cavity  lined 
with  very  hot  stones,  on  which  they  placed 
the  meat  wrapped  in  green  herbage,  and 
covered  it  with  other  hot  rocks  and  earth,  to 
remain  until  suitably  cooked. 

When  they  had  a  surplus  of  fresh  meat 
they  cut  it  in  strips  and  hung  it  in  the  sun 
shine  to  dry.  The  dried  meat  was  generally 
cooked  by  roasting  in  hot  embers,  and  then 
beaten  to  soften  it  before  being  eaten. 

A  young  hunter  never  ate  any  of  the  first 
deer  he  killed,  as  he  believed  that  if  he  did 


FOOD  SUPPLY.  37 

so    he    would    never    succeed    in    killing 
another. 

FISHING. 

They  had  various  methods  of  catching 
fish — with  hook  and  line,  with  a  spear,  by 
weir-traps  in  the  stream,  and  by  saturating 
the  water  with  the  juice  of  the  soap-root 
plant  (Chloro galum  pomeridiannm} .  Be 
fore  they  could  obtain  fishhooks  of  modern 
make,  they  made  them  of  bone.  Their  lines 
were  made  of  the  tough,  fibrous,  silken  bark 
of  the  variety  of  milkweed  or  silkweed, 
already  mentioned.  Their  spears  were 
small  poles  pointed  with  a  single  tine  of 
bone,  which  was  so  arranged  that  it  became 
detached  by  the  struggles  of  the  fish,  and 
was  then  held  by  a  string  fastened  near  its 
center,  which  turned  it  crosswise  of  the 
wound  and  make  it  act  as  an  effective  barb. 

Their  weir-traps  were  put  in  the  rapids, 
and  constructed  by  building  wing  dams 
diagonally  down  to  the  middle  of  the  stream 
until  the  two  ends  came  near  together,  and 
in  this  narrow  outlet  was  placed  a  sort  of 
wicker  basket  trap,  made  of  long  willow 
sprouts  loosely  woven  together  and  closed 


38         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

at  the  pointed  lower  end,  which  was  ele 
vated  above  the  surface  of  the  water  below 
the  dam.  The  fish,  in  going  down  stream, 
ran  into  this  trap,  and  soon  found  them 
selves  at  the  lower  end  and  out  of  the  water. 

The  soap-root  was  used  at  a  low  stage 
of  water,  late  in  summer.  They  dug  several 
bushels  of  the  bulbous  roots  and  went  to  a 
suitable  place  on  the  bank,  where  the  roots 
were  pounded  into  a  pulp,  and  mixed  with 
soil  and  water.  This  mixture,  by  the  hand 
ful,  was  then  rubbed  on  rocks  out  in  the 
stream,  which  roiled  the  water  and  also 
made  it  somewhat  foamy.  The  fish  were 
soon  affected  by  it,  became  stupid  with  a 
sort  of  strangulation,  and  rose  to  the  sur 
face,  where  they  were  easily  captured  by 
the  Indians  with  their  scoop  baskets.  In  a 
stream  the  size  of  the  South  Fork  of  the 
Merced  River  at  Wawona,  by  this  one  oper 
ation  every  fish  in  it  for  a  distance  of  three 
miles  would  be  taken  in  a  few  hours. 

The  fish  were  generally  cooked  by  roast 
ing  on  hot  coals  from  Burned  oak  wood  or 
bark. 

ACORNS    AS    FOOD. 

Acorns  were  their  main  staple  article  of 
breadstuff,  and  they  are  still  used  by  the 


*^ 

: 


Drairiiifj  IHJ  J/ir-s.  Joryoisen. 

CHUCK'-AH. 

Storehouse  for  nuts  anil'aeorns,  thatched  with  pine  branches, 
points  downward,  to  keep  out  mice  and  squirrels. 


40         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

present  generation  whenever  they  can  be 
obtained. 

They  are  gathered  in  the  fall  when  ripe, 
and  are  preserved  for  future  use  in  the  old 
style  Indian  cache  or  storehouse.  This  con 
sists  of  a  structure  which  they  call  a 
chuck'-ah,  which  is  a  large  basket-shaped 
receptacle  made  of  long  willow  sprouts 
closely  woven  together.  It  is  usually  about 
six  feet  high  and  three  feet  in  diameter.  It 
is  set  upon  stout  posts  about  three  feet  high, 
and  supported  in  position  by  four  longer 
posts  on  the  outside,  reaching  to  the  top,  and 
there  bound  firmly  to  keep  them  from 
spreading.  The  outside  of  the  basket  is 
thatched  with  small  pine  branches,  points 
downward,  to  shed  the  rain  and  snow,  and 
to  protect  the  contents  from  the  depreda 
tions  of  squirrels  and  woodpeckers.  When 
rilled,  the  top  also  is  securely  covered  with 
bark,  as  a  protection  from  the  winter  storms. 
When  the  acorns  are  wanted  for  use,  a  small 
hole  is  made  at  the  bottom  of  the  chuck' -ah, 
and  they  are  taken  out  from  time  to  time, 
as  required. 

The  acorns  from  the  black  or  Kellogg's 
oak  (Quercus  Calif ornica)  are  considered 


FOOD  SUPPLY.  41 

much  the  best  and  most  nutritious  by  the 
Indians.  This  is  the  oak  which  is  so  beau 
tiful  and  abundant  in  the  Yosemite  Valley. 

These  acorns  are  quite  bitter,  and  are  not 
eaten  in  their  natural  condition,  as  most 
fruit  and  nuts  are  eaten,  but  have  to  be 
quite  elaborately  prepared  and  cooked  to 
make  them  palatable.  First,  the  hull  is 
cracked  and  removed,  and  the  kernel 
pounded  or  ground  into  a  fine  meal.  In  the 
Yosemite  Valley  and  at  other  Indian  camps 
in  the  mountains,  this  is  done  by  grinding 
with  their  stone  pestles  or  metats 
(may-fat's)  in  the  ho'yas  or  mortars,  worn 
by  long  usage  in  large  flat-top  granite  rocks, 
one  of  which  is  near  every  Indian  camp. 
Lower  down  in  the  foothills,  where  there  are 
no  suitable  large  rocks  for  these  permanent 
mortars,  the  Indians  used  single  portable 
stone  mortars  for  this  purpose. 

After  the  acorns  are  ground  to  a  fine 
meal,  the  next  process  is  to  take  out  the 
bitter  tannin  principle.  This  is  done  in  the 
following  manner:  They  make  large  shal 
low  basins  in  clean  washed  sand,  in  the  cen 
ter  of  which  are  laid  a  few  flat,  fan-like  ends 
of  fir  branches.  A  fire  is  then  made  near  by, 


FOOD  SUPPLY.  43 

and  small  stones  of  four  or  five  pounds  in 
weight  are  heated,  with  which  they  warm 
water  in  some  of  their  large  cooking  baskets, 
and  mix  the  acorn  meal  with  it  to  the  con 
sistency  of  thin  gruel.  This  mixture  is 
poured  into  the  sand  basins,  and  as  the 
water  leaches  out  into  the  sand  it  takes  with 
it  the  bitter  quality — the  warm  water  being 
renewed  until  all  the  bitter  taste  is  washed 
out  from  the  meal  sediment,  or  dough. 

This  is  then  taken,  and,  after  being 
cleansed  from  the  adhering  sand,  is  put  into 
cooking  baskets,  thinned  down  with  hot 
water  to  the  desired  condition,  and  cooked 
by  means  of  hot  stones  which  are  held  in  it 
with  two  sticks  for  tongs.  The  mush,  while 
cooking,  is  stirred  with  a  peculiar  stirring 
stick,  made  of  a  tough  oak  sprout,  doubled 
so  as  to  form  a  round,  open  loop  at  one  end, 
which  is  used  in  lifting  out  any  loose  stones. 
When  the  dough  is  well  cooked,  it  is  either 
left  en  masse  in  the  baskets  or  scooped  out  in 
rolls  and  put  into  cold  vater  to  cool  and 
harden  before  being  eaten.  Sometimes  the 
thick  paste  is  made  into  cakes  and  baked  on 
hot  rocks.  One  of  these  cakes,  when  rolled 
in  paper,  will  in  a  short  time  saturate  it  with 


44         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

oil.    This  acorn  food  is  probably  more  nutri 
tious  than  any  of  the  cereals. 

INDIAN  DOGS. 

The  Indian  dogs,  of  which  every  family 
had  several,  are  as  fond  of  the  acorn  food 
as  their  owners.  These  dogs  are  made  use 
ful  in  treeing  wild-cats,  California  lions  and 
gray  squirrels,  and  are  very  expert  in  catch 
ing  ground  squirrels  by  intercepting  them 
when  away  from  their  burrows,  and  when 
the  Indians  drown  them  out  in  the  early 
spring  by  turning  water  from  the  flooded 
streams  into  their  holes. 

As  far  as  can  be  learned,  dogs  were 
about  the  only  domestic  animals  which  the 
Yosemites,  and  other  adjacent  tribes  of 
Indians,  kept  for  use  before  the  country  was 
settled  by  the  white  people. 

NUTS  AND   BARRIES. 

Pine  nuts  were  another  important  article 
of  food,  and  were  much  prized  by  the  In 
dians.  They  are  very  palatable  and  nutri 
tious,  and  are  also  greatly  relished  by  whtye 
people  whenever  they  can  be  obtained.  The 
seeds  of  the  Digger  or  nut  pine  (Piniis 
Sabiniana)  were  the  ones  most  used  on  the 


FOOD  SUPPLY.  45 

western  side  of  the  Sierras,  although  the 
seeds  of  the  sugar  pine  (P.  Lambertiana) 
were  also  sometimes  eaten.  On  account  of 
their  soft  shell,  nuts  from  the  pifion 
pine  (P.  monophytla),  which  grows  princi 
pally  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains, 
were  considered  superior  to  either  of  the 
other  kinds,  and  were  an  important  article 
of  barter  with  the  tribes  of  that  region. 
All  of  these  trees  are  very  prolific,  and  their 
crop  of  nuts  in  fruitful  years  has  been 
estimated  to  be  even  greater  than  the  enor 
mous  wheat  crop  of  California,  although  of 
course  but  a  very  small  portion  of  it  is  ever 
gathered.  Many  other  kinds  of  nuts  and 
seeds  were  also  eaten. 

The  principal  berries  used  by  the  Indians 
of  Yosemite  and  tribes  lower  down  in  the 
foothills  were  those  of  the  manzanita  (Arc- 
tostaphylos  glauca).  They  are  about  the 
size  of  Huckleberries,  of  a  light  brown  color, 
and  when  ripe  have  the  flavor  of  dried 
apples.  They  are  used  for  eating,  and  also 
to  make  a  kind  of  cider  for  drinking,  and 
for  mixing  with  some  food  preparations. 
Manzanita  is  the  Spanish  for  "  little  apple," 
and  this  shrub,  with  its  rich  red  bark  and 


46          INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

pale  green  foliage,  is  perhaps  the  most  beau 
tiful  and  most  widely  distributed  in  Cali 
fornia.  Strawberries,  black  raspberries, 
elderberries,  wild  cherries  and  the  fruit 
of  the  Sierra  plum  (Primus  sub  cor  data]  are 
also  used  by  the  Indians,  but  wild  edible 
berries  are  not  as  plentiful  in  California  as 
they  are  in  the  Atlantic  States. 

GRASSHOPPERS    AND    WORMS. 

In  addition  to  the  staple  articles  of  food 
already  mentioned,  many  other  things  were 
eaten  when  they  could  be  obtained.  These 
included  grasshoppers,  certain  kinds  of 
large  tree  worms,  the  white  fungi  which 
grows  upon  the  oak,  mushrooms,  and  the 
larvae  and  pupae  of  ants  and  other  insects. 
The  pupae  of  a  certain  kind  of  fly  which 
breeds  extensively  on  the  shores  of  Mono 
Lake,  about  forty  miles  from  Yosemite,  was 
an  important  article  of  commerce  across,,  the 
mountains,  and  was  made  into  a  kind  of 
paste  called  ka-cha'-vee,  which  is  still  much 
relished  by  the  Indians,  and  is  a  prominent 
dish  at  their  feasts. 

The  manner  of  catching  grasshoppers  was 
to  dig  a  large  hole,  somewhat  in  the  shape 


Photograph  by  Fiske. 

A  WOOD  GATHERER. 
As  In  all  Indian  tribes,  the  women  do  most  of  the  work. 


48         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

of  a  fly  trap,  with  the  bottom  larger  than  the 
opening  at  the  top,  so  that  the  insects  could 
not  readily  get  out  of  it.  This  hole  was  dug 
in  the  center  of  a  meadow,  which  was  then 
surrounded  by  Indians  armed  with  small 
boughs,  who  beat  the  grasshoppers  towards 
a  common  center  and  drove  them  into  the 
trap.  A  fire  was  then  kindled  on  top  of 
them,  and  after  they  had  been  well  roasted 
they  were  gathered  up  and  stored  for  future 
use. 

Other  articles  of  food  were  various  kinds 
of  roots,  grasses  and  herbage,  some  of 
which  were  cooked,  while  others  were  eaten 
in  their  natural  condition.  The  lupine 
(Lupinus  bicolor  and  other  species),  whose 
brilliant  flowers  are  such  a  beautiful  feature 
of  all  the  mountain  meadows  in  the  spring 
and  summer,  was  a  favorite  plant  for  mak 
ing  what  white  people  would  call  "  greens," 
and  when  eaten  was  frequently  moistened 
with  some  of  the  manzanita  cider  already  re 
ferred  to.  Among  the  roots  used  for  food 
were  those  of  the  wild  caraway  (Carum), 
wild  hyacinth  (Brodicea),  sorrel  (Oxalis}, 
and  camass  (Camassia  esculenta). 


RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES  AND 
BELIEFS. 

The  Indians  of  this  region,  in  common 
with  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  North  American 
aborigines,  were  of  a  highly  religious  tem 
perament,  most  devout  in  their  beliefs  and 
observances,  and  easily  wrought  upon  by 
the  priests  or  medicine  men  of  their  tribes. 
Elaborate  ceremonies  were  carried  out,  in 
which  all  of  the  details  were  highly  symboli 
cal,  and  some  of  their  curious  and  pictur 
esque  superstitions  were  responsible  for 
acts  of  cruelty  and  vengeance,  which  in 
many  cases  were  foreign  to  their  natural 
disposition. 

DANCES. 

Dancing  was  an  important  part  of  all 
religious  observances,  and  was  practiced 
purely  as  a  ceremonial,  and  never  for  pleas 
ure  or  recreation.  Both  men  and  women 
took  part,  the  men  executing  a  peculiar 
shuffling  step  which  involved  a  great  deal 
of  stamping  upon  the  ground  with  their  bare 


50         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

feet,  and  the  women  performing  a  curious, 
sideways,  swaying  motion.  Some  of  the 
dancers  carried  wands  or  arrows,  and  in 
dulged  in  wild  gesticulations.  They  usually- 
circled  slowly  around  a  fire,  and  danced  to 
the  point  of  exhaustion,  when  others  would 
immediately  take  their  places.  The  cere 
mony  was  accompanied  by  the  beating  of 
rude  drums,  and  by  a  monotonous  chant, 
which  was  joined  in  by  all  the  dancers. 

The  great  occasions  for  dancing  were 
before  going  to  war,  and  when  cremating 
the  bodies  of  their  dead.  The  war  dance 
was  probably  the  most  elaborate  in  costume 
and  other  details,  and  of  recent  years  the 
Indians  have  sometimes  given  public  ex 
hibitions  of  what  purported  to  be  war 
dances,  but  these  performances,  like  every 
thing  else  which  they  do  from  purely  mer 
cenary  motives,  are  very  poor  imitations  of 
the  originals,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  they  have 
ever  allowed  a  genuine  war  dance  to  be  wit 
nessed  by  white  men. 

FESTIVALS. 

The  various  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of 
Yosemite  Valley  are  accustomed  to  hold  a 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          51 

great  meeting  or  festival  once  a  year,  each 
tribe  taking  its  turn  as  hosts,  and  the  others 
sometimes  coming  from  considerable  dis 
tances.  At  these  meetings  there  are  dances 
and  other  ceremonials,  and  also  a  grand 
feast,  for  which  extensive  preparations  are 
made.  Another  feature  of  the  occasion  is 
the  presentation  of  gifts  to  the  visit 
ing  tribes,  consisting  of  money,  blankets, 
clothing,  baskets,  bead-work,  or  other  valua 
ble  articles.  These  presents,  or  their  equiv 
alent,  no  matter  how  small  they  may  be,  are 
always  returned  to  the  givers  at  the  next 
annual  festival,  together  with  additional 
gifts,  which,  in  turn,  must  be  given  back  the 
following  year,  and  so  on. 

At  these  gatherings  an  Indian  is  ap 
pointed  to  secure  and  keep  on  hand  a  good 
supply  of  wood  for  the  camp  fires,  and 
every  day  he  spreads  a  blanket  on  the 
ground  and  sits  on  it,  and  the  other  Indians 
throw  money,  clothing,  or  other  contribu 
tions,  into  the  blanket,  to  pay  him  and  his 
assistants  for  their  services.  At  other  times 
this  man  acts  as  a  messenger  or  news  car 
rier — first  spreading  his  blanket  to  collect 


52         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

his    fees,    and    then    starting    off    on    his 
mission. 

MARRIAGE. 

Many  of  the  Indians  in  Mariposa  and 
adjoining  counties  were  polygamists,  hav 
ing  two  or  three,  and  sometimes  more, 
wives.  Some  of  the  chiefs  and  head  men 
would  have  wives  from  several  of  the  adja 
cent  tribes,  which  had  a  tendency  to  estab 
lish  permanent  friendly  relations  among 
them. 

Every  man  who  took  a  young  woman  for 
his  wife  had  to  buy  her.  Young  women 
were  considered  by  their  parents  as  per 
sonal  chattels,  subject  to  sale  to  the  highest 
suitable  bidder,  and  the  payment  of  the  price 
constituted  the  main  part  of  the  marriage 
ceremony.  The  wife  was  then  the  personal 
property  of  the  husband,  which  he  might  sell 
or  gamble  away  if  he  wished ;  but  such  in 
stances  were  said  to  be  very  rare.  In  case- 
negotiations  for  a  marriage  fell  through, 
the  preliminary  payments  were  scrupulously 
returned  to  the  rejected  suitor  by  the 
parents. 

Even  a  widow,  independent  of  control  in 
the  matter  of  marriage,  if  she  consented  to 


Photograph  1>>/  Dore. 

A  YOUNG  YOSKMITK. 

The  babies  are  tied  to  their  baskets  to  make  them  straight, 
and  keep  them  out  of  mischief. 


54         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

become  a  man's  wife,  received  some 
compensation  herself  from  her  intended 
husband. 

It  is  said  that  in  their  marital  relations 
they  were  as  a  rule  strictly  faithful  to  each 
other.  If  the  woman  was  found  to  be  guilty 
of  unfaithfulness  to  her  husband,  the  pen 
alty  was  death.  Such  a  thing  as  a  man 
whipping  or  beating  his  wife  was  never 
known.  Whipping  under  any  circumstances 
was  considered  a  more  humiliating  and  dis 
graceful  punishment  than  death. 

Even  in  the  management  of  children, 
whipping  was  never  resorted  to  as  punish 
ment  for  disobedience.  In  fact,  children 
were  always  treated  in  such  a  kind,  patient, 
loving  manner,  that  disobedience  was  a 
fault  rarely  known.  The  pre-natal  maternal 
influence,  and  subsequent  treatment  after 
birth,  were  such  that  they  were  naturally 
patient  and  readily  submissive  to  kind 
parental  control. 

In  recent  years,  under  the  influence  and 
examples  often  seen  in  what  is  called  civil 
ized  life,  Indian  husbands  have  been  known 
to  beat  their  wives,  and  mothers  to  whip 
their  children. 


Photograph  inj  Boysen. 


AND  VIRGIL. 

The.  canopy  of  the  baby  Ibasket  is  called  Cho-ko'-ni,  and  the 
_      Royal   Arches,   from  their  resemblance  to  it,  have  also 
received  this  name  from  the  Indians. 


56         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

MEDICINE}     MEN. 

At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  California 
by  the  whites,  every  Indian  tribe  had  its 
professional  doctors  or  medicine  men,  who 
also  acted  as  religious  leaders.  They  were 
the  confidential  counselors  of  the  chiefs  and 
head-men  of  the  tribes,  and  had  great  in 
fluence  and  control  over  the  people.  They 
claimed  to  be  spiritual  mediums,  and  to  have 
communication  with  the  departed  spirits  of 
some  of  their  old  and  most  revered  chief 
tains  and  dear  friends,  now  in  a  much  more 
happy  condition  than  when  here  in  earthly 
life.  They  were  thought  to  be  endowed 
with  supernatural  powers,  not  only  in  curing 
all  diseases  (except  those  due  to  old  age), 
but  also  in  making  a  well  person  sick  at 
their  pleasure,  even  at  a  distance ;  but  when 
their  sorcery  failed  to  wrork  on  their  white 
enemies  and  exterminate  them,  they  lost  the 
confidence  of  their  followers  to  a  large 
extent. 

With  the  invasion  of  the  white  settlers 
came  forced  changes  in  their  old  customs 
and  manner  of  living,  and  a  new  variety  of 
epidemic  and  other  diseases.  When  a  doc 
tor  failed  to  cure  these  diseases,  and  several 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          57 

deaths  occurred  in  quick  succession  in  a 
camp,  they  believed  the  doctor  was  under 
the  control  of  some  evil  spirit,  and  killed 
him. 

After  the  Indians  were  given  their  free 
dom  from  the  reservations  in  1855,  the  old 
ones,  subdued  and  broken-hearted,  sickened 
and  died  very  fast,  and  most  of  the  men 
doctors  were  killed  off  in  a  few  years. 
There  are  none  known  who  now  attempt  to 
act  in  that  capacity. 

There  are  still  some  women  doctors  who 
continue  to  practice  the  magic  art,  but  as 
there  are  now  but  very  few  Indians,  there  is 
not  so  much  sickness,  and  very  few  deaths  in 
a  year,  so  that  the  doctors  very  rarely  for 
feit  their  lives  by  many  of  their  patients 
dying  in  quick  succession. 

Their  most  common  mode  of  treatment  in 
cases  of  sickness  was  to  scarify  the  painful 
locality  with  the  sharp  edge  of  a  piece  of 
obsidian,  and  suck  out  the  blood  with  the 
mouth.  In  cases  of  headache,  the  forehead 
was  operated  on  ;  in  a  case  of  colic  the  abdo 
men  was  treated  in  the  same  way,  as  were 
also  all  painful  swellings  on  any  part  of  the 
body. 


58         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

The  grand  object  of  the  doctor  was  to 
make  the  patient  and  family  firmly  believe 
that  his  course  of  treatment  was  removing 
the  cause  of  the  sickness.  To  aid  in 
strengthening  this  belief,  after  diagnosing 
the  case,  and  before  commencing  operations, 
lie  would  quietly  retire  for  a  short  time, 
ostensibly  to  get  under  the  influence  of  the 
divine  healing  spirit,  but  in  reality  to  fill 
his  mouth  with  several  small  articles,  such 
as  bits  of  wood  or  stone ;  he  was  then  ready 
to  commence  treatment.  After  sucking  and 
spitting  pure  blood  a  few  times,  he  began 
to  spit  out  with  the  blood,  one  after  another, 
the  things  he  had  in  his  mouth,  at  the  sight 
of  which  all  the  attendants  would  join  in  a 
chorus  of  grunts  of  astonishment,  and  the 
doctor  would  pretend  to  be  very  much 
nauseated.  In  most  ordinary  cases  two  or 
three  treatments  effected  a  cure. 

The  doctors  also  made  use  of  certain  rare 
medicinal  plants  in  treating  some  diseases. 
The  Indian  women  have  great  faith  in 
charms  made  of  the  pungent  roots  of  some 
rare  plants  from  the  high  mountain  ranges, 
which  they  wear  on  strings  around  their 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          59 

necks,  or  on  a  string-  of  beads,  to  protect 
them  from  sickness. 

In  cases  of  malignant  sores  or  ulcers  on 
any  part  of  the  body,  the  doctors  treated 
them  by  applying  dirt  or  earth,  and  in  warm 
weather  would  excavate  a  place  in  the 
ground  and  put  the  patient  in  it,  either  in  a 
sitting  or  recumbent  position,  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  required,  and  cover  the  affected 
part  with  earth  for  several  hours  daily. 
Sometimes,  by  this  mode  of  treatment,  won 
derful  cures  were  made. 

In  all  cases,  if  a  doctor  failed  to  cure  a 
disease,  and  the  patient  died,  he  was  obliged 
to  refund  to  the  relatives  any  fee  which  he 

had  received  for  his  services. 

NN_ 

DISPOSING     OF     THE}     DEAD. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  of  Cali 
fornia,  it  seemed  to  be  the  universal  custom 
of  the  Indians  along  the  foothills  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  range  of  mountains  to  burn 
the  bodies  of  their  dead. 

A  suitable  pile  of  readily  combustible 
wood  was  prepared.  The  body  was  taken 
charge  of  by  persons  chosen  to  perform  the 
last  sacred  rites,  and  firmly  bound  in  skins 


6o         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

or  blankets,  and  then  placed  upon  the 
funeral  pyre,  with  all  the  personal  effects 
of  the  deceased,  together  with  numerous 
votive  offerings  from  friends  and  relatives. 
The  chief  mourners  of  the  occasion  seemed 
to  take  but  little  active  part  in  the  cere 
monies.  When  all  was  ready,  one  of  the 
assistants  would  light  the  fire,  and  the  terri 
ble,  wailing,  mournful  cry  would  commence, 
and  the  professional  chanters,  with  peculiar 
sidling  movements  and  frantic  gestures, 
would  circle  round  and  round  about  the 
burning  pile.  Occasionally,  on  arriving  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  pile,  they  would 
stop,  and,  pointing  to  the  West,  would  end 
a  crying  refrain  by  exclaiming  "  Him-i- 
la'-ya!"  When  these  became  exhausted, 
others  would  step  in  and  take  their  places, 
and  thus  keep  up  the  mournful  ceremony 
until  the  whole  pile  was  consumed. 

After  the  pile  had  cooled,  the  charred 
bones  and  ashes  were  gathered  up,  a  few 
pieces  of  bone  selected,  and  the  remainder 
buried.  Of  the  pieces  retained,  some  would 
be  sent  to  distant  relatives,  and  the  others 
pounded  to  a  fine  powder,  then  mixed  with 
pine  pitch  and  plastered  on  the  faces  of  the 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          61 

nearest  female  relatives  as  a  badge  of 
mourning,  to  be  kept  there  until  it  naturally 
wore  off.  Every  Indian  camp  used  to  have 
some  of  these  hideous  looking  old  women  in 
it  in  the  "  early  days." 

One  principal  reason  for  burning  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  was  the  belief  that  there 
is  an  evil  spirit,  waiting  and  watching  for 
the  animating  spirit  or  soul  to  leave  the 
body,  that  he  may  get  it  to  take  to  his  own 
world  of  darkness  and  misery.  By  burning 
the  perishable  body  they  thought  that  the 
immortal  soul  would  be  more  quickly  re 
leased  and  set  free  to  speed  to  the  happy 
spirit  world  in  the  El-o'-ivin}  or  far  distant 
West,  while  with  their  loud,  wailing  cries 
the  evil  spirit  was  kept  away. 

The  young  women  take  great  care  of  their 
long,  shining,  black  hair,  of  which  they  all 
feel  very  proud,  as  adding  much  to  their 
personal  beauty,  ami  they  seldom  have  it  cut 
before  marriage.  But  upon  the  death  of  a 
husband  the  wife  has  her  hair  all  cut  off  and 
burned  with  his  body,  so  that  he  may  still 
have  it  in  his  future  spirit  home,  to  love  and 
caress  as  a  memento  of  his  living  earth-wife. 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          63 

These  Indians  believe  that  everything  on 
earth,  both  natural  and  artificial,  is  endowed 
with  an  immortal  spirit,  which  is  inde 
structible,  and  that  whatever  personal  prop 
erty  or  precious  gifts  are  burned,  either 
with  the  body  or  in  later  years  for  the  de 
parted  friend's  benefit,  will  be  received  and 
made  use  of  in  the  spirit  world.  In  recent 
years  the  Yosemites  and  other  remnants  of 
tribes  closely  associated  with  them,  have 
adopted  the  custom  of  the  white  people,  and 
bury  their  dead.  The  fine,  expensive 
blankets,  and  most  beautifully  worked 
baskets,  which  have  been  kept  sacredly  in 
hiding  for  many  years,  to  be  buried  with 
the  owner,  are  now  cut  into  small  frag 
ments  before  being  deposited  in  the  ground, 
for  fear  some  white  person  will  desecrate 
the  grave  by  digging  them  up  and  carrying 
them  away. 

There  are  no  people  in  the  world  who 
show  more  reverence  for  their  dead,  or  hold 
their  memory  more  sacred,  than  these  so- 
called  "  Digger  "  Indians.  After  being  re 
leased  from  the  reservations  they  kept  them 
selves  in  abject  poverty  for  many  years,  by 
sacrificing  their  best  blankets,  baskets  and 


64         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

clothing  in  the  devouring  flames  of  a  fire 
kindled  for  that  purpose,  when  holding  their 
annual  mourning  festivals  in  memory  of 
their  dead  friends. 


RLXIGIOUS 

The  old  Indians  are  all  very  reticent 
regarding  their  religious  beliefs.  They  hold 
them  too  sacred  to  be  exposed  to  possible 
ridicule,  and  it  is  therefore  very  diffi 
cult  to  get  information  from  them  by  direct 
questions. 

They  seem,  however,  to  have  a  vague,  in 
distinct  belief  or  tradition  that  their  orig 
inal  ancestors,  in  the  long  forgotten  past, 
dwelt  in  a  better  and  much  more  desirable 
country  than  this,  in  the  Bl-o'-win,  or  dis 
tant  West,  and  that  by  some  misfortune  or 
great  calamity  they  were  separated  from 
that  happy  land,  and  became  wanderers  in 
this  part  of  the  world.  They  also  believe 
that  the  spirits  of  all  good  Indians  will  be 
permitted,  after  death,  to  go  back  to  that 
happy  country  of  their  ancestors'  origin  ; 
but  that  the  spirits  of  bad  Indians  have  to 
serve  another  earth  life  in  the  form  of  a 
grizzly  bear,  as  a  punishment  for  their 


CEREMONIES  AND  BELIEFS.          65 

former  crimes.  Hence,  no  Indians  ever  eat 
bear  meat  if  they  know  it. 

All  the  old  Indian  are  spiritualists,  and 
very  superstitious  in  their  religious  beliefs. 
One  special  tenet  is  that  if  one  of  their  rela 
tives  or  friends  has  been  murdered,  he  will 
not  receive  them  on  terms  of  friendship  in 
the  spirit  world  unless  they  revenge  his 
death,  by  either  killing  the  murderer  or 
some  one  of  the  same  blood.  This  belief 
sometimes  results  in  an  entirely  innocent 
person  being  put  to  death. 

They  all  have  a  great  fear  of  evil  spirits, 
which  they  believe  have  the  power  to  do 
them  much  harm  and  defeat  their  undertak 
ings.  They  also  have  a  fairly  distinct  idea 
of  a  Deity  or  Great  Spirit,  who  never  does 
them  any  harm,  and  whose  home  is  in  the 
happy  land  of  their  ancestors  in  the  West. 


NATIVE  INDUSTRIES. 

The  Yosemites  and  other  kindred  or  adja 
cent  tribes  have  been  branded  as  "  Diggers," 
and  are  generally  thought  to  be  the  lowest 
class  of  Indians  in  America,  but  in  some 
lines  of  artistic  work  they  excelled  all  other 
tribes.  For  example,  their  basketry  work, 
for  domestic  or  sacred  purposes,  and  their 
bows  and  arrows,  were  of  very  superior 
workmanship  and  fine  finish. 

BASKETRY    AND    BEAD    WORK. 

Many  years  ago  the  chief  industry  of  the 
Indian  women,  aside  from  their  other 
domestic  duties,  was  the  making  of  baskets. 
They  made  a  great  variety  of  shapes  and 
sizes  for  their  common  use,  and  also  many 
of  a  more  artistic  design  and  finer  finish  for 
the  sacred  purpose  of  being  burned  or  buried 
with  their  bodies,  or  that  of  some  relative 
or  dear  friend,  after  death.  The  baskets 
devoted  to  this  special  purpose  are  the  fin 
est  made,  but  are  very  seldom  seen  by  any 
white  person,  and  are  not  for  sale  at  any 


S 


o  .s 

IT-  os 

M  ^ 

•<  as 

M  -S 

u  a 


rt    _w 

5 


NATIVE  INDUSTRIES.  69 

price.  This  finest  style  of  work  seems  to 
have  been  made  a  specialty  by  certain  of  the 
most  artistic  workers  in  each  tribe. 

At  the  present  time,  in  their  more  mod 
ern  style  of  living,  they  do  not  require  so 
many  baskets,  and  the  industry  of  making 
them  is  fast  on  the  decline.  Some  of  the  old 
women,  however,  still  continue  to  make  such 
as  are  required  for  their  own  use,  and  a  few 
others  for  sale. 

Most  of  the  ornamental  figures  and  de 
signs  worked  into  the  finest  basketry  are 
symbolical  in  character,  and  of  so  ancient 
an  origin  that  Indians  of  the  present  day 
do  not  know  what  many  of  them  are 
intended  to  represent.  They  have  simply 
been  copied  from  time  immemorial,  with  the 
idea  that  they  were  necessary  for  the  com 
plete  finish  and  beauty  of  the  article  made. 

In  recent  years  they  sometimes  make  use 
of  more  modern  styles  of  ornamentation, 
which  they  see  in  print. 

Many  of  the  young  women  are  now  giv 
ing  their  attention  to  making  fancy  bead 
work,  in  the  form  of  ornamental  belts  and 
hat-bands,  but  this  is  an  industry  of  very 
modern  origin.  Some  of  them  are  employed 


Q    £ 
S    1 


NATIVE  INDUSTRIES.  71 

by  white  people  to  do  laundry  and  other 
work,  and  any  labor  of  this  kind  pays  them 
better  than  making  baskets  for  sale.  Forty 
years  ago  a  finely  made  basket  could  have 
been  bought  for  less  than  ten  dollars.  At 
present,  if  the  time  spent  in  getting  and 
preparing  the  necessary  materials,  and  in 
working  them  into  the  basket,  were  paid  for 
at  the  same  rate  per  day  that  a  young 
woman  receives  for  doing  washing  in  the 
hotel  laundry,  or  for  private  families,  it 
would  amount  to  over  one  hundred  dollars. 
Most  of  the  baskets  made  for  domestic 
use  are  so  closely  woven  that  they  are  prac 
tically  water-tight,  and  are  used  for  cooking 
and  similar  purposes.  Over  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  near 
the  dry,  desert  country,  the  Indians  make 
some  of  their  baskets  in  the  form  of  jugs  of 
various  sizes.  These  are  smeared  over  with 
a  pitch  composition,  which  renders  them 
perfectly  water-tight,  and  they  are  used  for 
carrying  water  when  traveling  over  those 
desolate,  sandy  wastes. 

BOWS  AND  ARROWS. 

The  Indian  men  showed  no  less  ingenuity 
and  artistic  skill  in  their    special    lines  of 


72         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

work  than  the  women,  especially  in  the 
manufacture  of  their  bows  and  arrows,  in 
the  making  of  fish  lines  and  coarser  twine 
out  of  the  soft,  flexible  bark  of  the  milk 
weed  (Asclepias  speciosa),  and  in  making 
other  useful  implements  and  utensils  with 
the  very  limited  means  at  their  disposal. 

Their  bows  were  made  of  a  branch  of  the 
incense  cedar  (Libocedrns  decurrens),  or  of 
the  California  nutmeg  (Tumion  Cali- 
fornicum  [Torreya]  ),  made  flat  on  the  outer 
side,  and  rounded  smooth  on  the  inner  or 
concave  side  when  the  bow  is  strung*  for 
use.  The  flat,  outer  side  was  covered  with 
sinew,  usually  that  from  the  leg  of  a  deer, 
steeped  in  hot  water  until  it  became  soft  and 
glutinous,  and  then  laid  evenly  and  smoothly 
over  the  wood,  and  so  shaped  at  the  ends  as 
to  hold  the  string  in  place.  When  thor 
oughly  dry  the  sinew  contracted,  so  that  the 
bow  when  not  strung  was  concave  on  the 
outer  side. 

When  not  in  use  the  bow  was  always  left 
unstrung.  To  string  it  for  use,  it  was  neces 
sary  in  cold  weather  to  warm  it,  thus  mak 
ing  it  more  elastic  and  easily  bent.  The  best 


Photograph  by  Boy  sen. 

A   BASKET   MAKER. 

She  is  weaving  a  burden  basket.    The  one  to  the  left  is  for 
cooking,  and  a  baby  basket  stands  against  the  tent. 


74         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

strings  were  also  made  of  sinew,  or  of  pax- 
wax  cartilage,  for  their  finest  bows. 

The  arrows  were  made  of  reeds  and 
various  kinds  of  wood,  including  the  syringa 
(Philadelphia  Lezvisii)  and  a  small  shrub 
or  tree  which  the  Indians  called  Le-ham'-i- 
tee,  or  arrow-wood,  and  which  grew  quite 
plentifully  in  what  is  now  known  as  Indian 
Canyon,  near  the  Yosemite  Falls. 

The  finest  arrows  were  furnished  with 
points  made  of  obsidian,  or  volcanic  glass, 
which  was  obtained  in  the  vicinity  of  Mono 
Lake  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sierras.  It 
required  great  care  and  delicate  skill  to 
work  this  brittle  material  into  the  fine  sharp 
points,  and  the  making  of  them  seemed  to  be 
a  special  business  or  trade  with  some  of  the 
old  men.  Arrows  furnished  with  these 
points  were  only  used  in  hunting  large 
game,  or  in  hostile  combat  with  enemies ; 
for  common  use,  in  hunting  small  game,  the 
hard  wooden  arrow  was  merely  sharpened 
to  a  point. 

The  butt,  or  end  used  on  the  string,  was 
furnished  with  three  or  four  short  strips  of 
feathers  taken  from  a  hawk's  wing,  and 
fastened  on  lengthwise.  These  strips  of 


NATIVE  INDUSTRIES.  75 

feathers  are  supposed  to  aid  in  the  more 
accurate  flight  of  the  arrow  when  shot  from 
the  bow. 

When  out  on  a  hunt  the  Indian  carried 
his  bow  strung  ready  for  use,  and  his  bundle 
of  assorted  arrows  in  a  quiver  made  of  the 
skin  of  a  small  fox,  wild-cat  or  fisher,  hung 
conveniently  over  his  shoulder. 

These  primitive  weapons,  which  were  in 
universal  use  by  the  Yosemite  Indians  fifty 
years  ago,  are  now  never  seen  except  in 
some  collection  of  Indian  relics  and  curios. 

Other  articles  manufactured  by  these 
tribes  were  stone  hammers,  and  also  others 
made  from  the  points  of  deer  horns  mounted 
on  wooden  handles,  which  they  used  in  deli 
cately  chipping  the  brittle  obsidian  in  form 
ing  arrowheads.  Rude  musical  instru 
ments,  principally  drums  and  flageolets, 
were  also  made. 


(ttljapfrr 

MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS. 

The  Indians  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  and 
vicinity  have  a  great  fund  of  mythological 
lore,  which  has  been  handed  down  verbally 
from  generation  to  generation  for  hundreds 
of  years,  but  they  are  very  reluctant  to 
speak  of  these  legends  to  white  people,  and 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  reliable  in 
formation  on  the  subject.  Moreover,  the 
Indians  most  familiar  with  them  have 
not  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  English 
language  to  be  able  to  express  their  ideas 
clearly. 

Many  Yosemite  legends  have  been  pub 
lished  at  different  times  and  in  various 
forms,  and  it  is  probable  that  most  of  them 
have  had  at  least  a  foundation  in  real  Indian 
myths,  but  many  are  obviously  fanciful  in 
some  particulars,  and  it  is  impossible  to  tell 
how  much  is  of  Indian  origin  and  how  much 
is  due  to  poetic  embellishment.  When 
asked  about  some  of  these  legends,  many 
years  ago,  one  of  the  old  Yosemite  Indians 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  77 

remarked  contemptuously,  "  White  man  too 
much  lie." 

On  the  other  hand,  red  men  as  well  as 
white  men  are  sometimes  given  to  romanc 
ing,  and  I  have  known  of  cases  where 
"  legends  "  would  be  manufactured  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment  by  some  young  Indian 
to  satisfy  an  importunate  and  credulous 
questioner,  to  the  keen  but  suppressed 
amusement  of  other  Indians  present. 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  this  sub 
ject  is  surrounded  with  some  difficulty,  and 
it  must  not  be  understood  that  the  legends 
here  given  are  vouched  for  as  of  wholly  In 
dian  origin.  Some  of  them,  notably  those 
of  the  Tul-tqk'-a-na  and  the  second  legend 
of  Tis-sa'-ack,  have  been  accepted  by  emi 
nent  ethnologists,  and  are  believed  to  be 
purely  aboriginal,  while  others  have  doubt 
less  been  somewhat  idealized  in  translation 
and  in  the  course  of  numerous  repetitions. 

The  Legend  of  To-tau-kon-nu'-la  and 
Tis-sa'-ack  is  made  up  of  fragments  of 
mythological  lore  obtained  from  a  number 
of  old  Indians  at  various  times  during  the 
past  fifty  years^J  It  varies  somewhat  from 
other  legends  which  have  been  published 


78         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

regarding  these  same  characters,  but  it  is 
well  known  that  the  Indians  living  in 
Yosemite  in  recent  years  are  of  mixed  tribal 
origin  and  do  not  all  agree  as  to  the  tradi 
tional  history  of  the  region,  nor  the  names 
of  the  prominent  scenic  features,  nor  even 
of  the  Valley  itself.  And  this  largely  ac 
counts  for  the  fact  that  some  of  the  legends 
do  not  harmonize  with  each  other  in  details 
or  in  sentiment.  All  of  them,  however,  are 
picturesque,  and  they  certainly  give  an 
added  interest  to  the  natural  beauties  and 
wonders  with  which  they  are  associated. 


OF   TO-TAU-KON-NU-IvA   AND   TIS- 

SA'-ACK. 

Innumerable  moons  and  snows  have 
passed  since  the  Great  Spirit  guided  a  little 
band  of  his  favorite  children  into  the  beau 
tiful  vale  of  Ah-wah'-nee,*  and  bid  them 
stop  and  rest  from  their  long  and  weary 
wanderings,  which  had  lasted  ever  since 
they  had  been  separated  by  the  great  waters 
from  the  happy  land  of  their  forefathers  in 
the  far  distant  Bl-o'-win  (West). 


*  Yosemite  Valley. 


Photograph  by  Boysen. 

MARY. 

Daughter  of  Captain  John,  one  of  the  last  Chiefs  of  the 
Yosemites. 


8o         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

Here  they  found  food  in  abundance  for 
all.  The  rivers  gave  them  plenty  of  la-pe'-si 
(trout).  They  found  in  the  meadows  sweet 
ha'-ker  (clover),  and  sour  yu-yu'-yu-nmh 
(oxalis)  for  spring  medicine,  and  sweet 
toon'-gy  and  other  edible  roots  in  abun 
dance.  The  trees  and  bushes  yielded  acorns, 
pine  nuts,  fruits  and  berries.  In  the  forests 
were  herds  of  he'-kcr  (deer)  and  other  ani 
mals,  which  gave  meat  for  food  and  skins 
for  clothing  and  beds.  And  here  they  lived 
and  multiplied,  and,  as  instructed  by  their 
medicine  men,  worshipped  the  Great  Spirit 
which  gave  them  life,  and  the  sun  which 
warmed  and  made  them  happy. 

They  also  kept  in  memory  the  happy  land 
of  their  forefathers.  The  story  was  told  by 
the  old  people  to  the  young,  and  they  again 
told  it  to  their  children  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  they  all  believed  that  after 
death  their  spirits  would  return  to  dwell 
forever  in  that  distant  country. 

They  prospered  and  built  other  towns  out 
side  of  Ah-wah'-nee,  and  became  a  great 
nation.  They  learned  wisdom  by  experience 
and  by  observing  how  the  Great  Spirit 
taught  the  animals  and  insects  to  live,  and 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  81 

they  believed  that  their  children  could  ab 
sorb  the  cunning  of  the  wild  creatures.  And 
so  the  young  son  of  their  chieftain  was  made 
to  sleep  in  the  skins  of  the  beaver  and  coyote, 
that  he  might  grow  wise  in  building,  and 
keen  of  scent  in  following  game.  On  some 
days  he  was  fed  with  la-pc'-si  that  he  might 
become  a  good  swimmer,  and  on  other  days 
the  eggs  of  the  great  to-tau'-kon  (crane) 
were  his  food,  t-hat  he  might  grow  tall  and 
keen  of  sight,  and  have  a  clear,  ringing 
voice.  He  was  also  fed  on  the  flesh  of  the 
hc'-kei'  that  he  might  be  fleet  of  foot,  and 
on  that  of  the  great  yo-scui'-i-tc  (grizzly 
bear)  to  make  him  powerful  in  combat. 

And  the  little  boy  grew  up  and  became  a 
great  and  wise  chieftain,  and  he  was  also  a 
rain  wizard,  and  brought  timely  rains  for 
the  crops. 

As  was  the  custom  in  giving  names  to  all 
Indians,  his  name  was  changed  from  time 
to  time,  as  his  character  developed,  until  he 
was  called  Choo'-too-se-ka',  meaning  the 
Supreme  Good.  His  grand  o'-chnin 
(house)  was  built  at  the  base  of  the  great 


82         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

rock  called  To-tau-kon-nu'-la,*  because  the 
great  to-tau-kons  made  their  nests  and 
raised  their  young  in  a  meadow  at  its  sum 
mit,  and  their  loud  ringing  cries  resounded 
over  the  whole  Valley. 

As  the  moons  and  snows  passed,  this 
great  rock  and  all  the  great  rocky  walls 
around  the  Valley  grew  in  height,  and  the 
hills  became  high  mountains. 

After  a  time  Choo'-too-se-ka'  built  him 
self  a  great  palace  o'-chum  on  the  summit  of 
the  rock  To-tau-kon-nu'-la,  and  had  his 
great  chair  of  state  a  little  west  of  his  pal 
ace,  where  on  all  festival  occasions  he  could 
overlook  and  talk  to  the  great  multitude 
below ;  and  the  remains  of  this  chair  are  still 
to  be  seen. 

Choo'-too-se-ka'  was  then  named  To-tau- 
kon-nu'-la,  because  he  had  built  his  o'-chum 
on  the  summit  of  the  great  rock  and  taken 
the  place  of  the  to-tau'-kons.  He  had  no 
wife,  but  all  the  women  served  him  in  his 
domestic  needs,  as  he  was  their  great  chief, 
and  his  wishes  were  paramount.  The  many 
valuable  donations  which  he  received  from 


*  El  Capitan. 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  83 

his  people  at  the  great  annual  festivals  made 
him  wealthy  beyond  all  personal  wants,  and 
he  gave  freely  to  the  needy. 

One  day,  while  standing  on  the  top  of  the 
great  domef  above  the  south  wall  of  the 
Valley,  watching  the  great  herds  of  deer,  he 
saw  some  strange  people  approaching,  bear 
ing  heavy  burdens.  They  were  fairer  of 
skin,  and  their  clothing  was  different  from 
that  of  his  people,  and  when  they  drew  near 
he  asked  them  who  they  were  and  whence 
they  came. 

And  a  woman  replied,  "  I  am  Tis-sa'-ack, 
and  these  are  some  of  my  people.  We  come 
from  cat' -tan  chu'-miich  (far  South).  I 
have  heard  of  your  great  wisdom  and  good 
ness,  and  have  come  to  see  you  and  your 
people.  We  bring  you  presents  of  many 
fine  baskets,  and  beads  of  many  colors,  as 
tokens  of  our  friendship.  When  we  have 
rested  and  seen  your  people  and  beautiful 
valley  we  will  return  to  our  home." 

To-tau-kon-nu'-la  was  much  pleased  with 
his  fair  visitor,  and  built  a  large  o'-chum 
for  her  and  her  companions  on  the  summit 


Sentinel   Dome. 


Photograph  by  Foley. 

HALF  DOME  (TIS-SA'-ACK), 

5,000  Feet. 

Named  for  a  woman  In  Indian  mythology  who  was  turned  to 
stone  for  quarreling  with  her  husband.  See  "Legend  of 
Tis-sa'-ack." 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  85 

of  the  great  dome  at  the  east  end  of  the 
Valley,*  and  this  dome  still  retains  her 
name. 

And  she  tarried  there  and  taught  the 
women  of  Ah-wah'-nee  how  to  make  the 
beautiful  baskets  which  they  still  make  at 
the  present  day ;  and  To-tau-kon-nu'-la  vis 
ited  her  daily,  and  became  charmed  with  her 
loveliness,  and  wanted  her  to  remain  and 
be  his  wife,  but  she  denied  him,  saying,  "  I 
must  return  to  my  people,"  and,  when 
he  still  persistedj  she  left  her  o'-chum  in  the 
night  and  was  never  seen  again.  And  the 
love-stricken  chieftain  forgot  his  people,  and 
went  in  search  of  her,  and  they  waited  many 
moons  for  his  return  and  mourned  his  long 
absence,  but  they  never  saw  him  more. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of 
calamities  which  nearly  destroyed  the  great 
tribe  of  Ah-wah-nee'-chees.  First  a  great 
drouth  prevailed,  and  the  crops  failed,  and 
the  streams  of  water  dried  up.  The  deer 
went  wild  and  wandered  away.  Then  a 
dark  cloud  of  smoke  arose  in  the  East  and 
obscured  the  sun,  so  that  it  gave  no  heat, 


Half  Dome. 


86         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

and  many  of  the  people  perished  from  cold 
and  hunger.  Then  the  earth  shook  terribly 
and  groaned  with  great  pain,  and  enormous 
rocks  fell  from  the  walls  around  Ah-wah'- 
nee.  The  great  dome  called  Tis-sa'-ack 
was  burst  asunder,  and  half  of  it  fell  into 
the  Valley.  A  fire  burst  out  of  the  earth 
in  the  East,  and  the  ca'-lah  (snow)  on 
the  sky  mountains  was  changed  to  water, 
which  flowed  down  and  formed  the  Lake 
Ah-wei'-yah.*  And  all  the  streams  were 
filled  to  overflowing,  and  still  the  waters 
rose,  and  there  was  a  great  flood,  so  that 
a  large  part  of  the  Valley  became  a 
lake,  and  many  persons  were  drowned. 

After  a  time  the  Great  Spirit  took  pity  on 
his  children,  and  the  dark  cloud  of  smoke 
disappeared,  the  sun  warmed-  the  Valley 
again  into  new  life,  and  the  few  people  who 
were  left  had  plenty  of  food  once  more. 

Many  moons  afterwards  there  appeared 
on  the  face  of  the  great  rock  To-tau-kon- 
nu'-la  the  figure  of  a  man  in  a  flowing  robe, 
and  with  one  hand  extended  toward  the 
West,  in  which  direction  he  appears  to  be 


*  Mirror  Lake. 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  87 

traveling.  This  figure  was  interpreted  to  be 
the  picture  of  the  great  lost  Chieftain,  indi 
cating  that  he  had  gone  to  the  "  happy  hunt 
ing  grounds  "  of  his  ancestors,  and  it  is 
looked  upon  with  great  veneration  and  awe 
by  the  few  Indians  still  living  in  Yosemite. 
At  about  the  same  time  the  face  of  the 
beautiful  Tis-sa'-ack  appeared  on  the  great 
flat  side  of  the  dome  which  bears  her  name, 
and  the  Indians  recognized  her  by  the  way 
in  which  her  dark  hair  was  cut  straight 
across  her  forehead  and  fell  down  at  the 
sides,  which  was  then  considered  among  the 
Yosemites  as  the  acme  of  feminine  beauty, 
and  is  so  regarded  to  this  day. 

ANOTHER    LEGEND    OF    TIS-SA'-ACK. 

Tis-sa'-ack  and  her  husband  traveled 
from  a  far-off  country,  and  entered  the  Val 
ley  footsore  and  weary.  She  walked  ahead, 
carrying  a  great  conical  burden-basket, 
which  was  supported  by  a  band  across  her 
forehead,  and  was  filled  with  many  things. 
He  followed  after,  carrying  a  rude  staff  in 
his  hand  and  a  roll  of  woven  skin  blankets 
over  his  shoulder.  They  had  come  across 
the  mountains  and  were  very  thirsty,  and 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  89 

they  hurried  to  reach  the  Valley,  where  they 
knew  there  was  water.  The  woman  was 
still  far  in  advance  when  she  reached  the 
Lake  Ah-wei'-yah,*  and  she  dipped  up  the 
water  in  her  basket  and  drank  long  and 
deep.  She  was  so  thirsty  that  she  even 
drank  up  all  the  water  in  the  lake  and 
drained  it  dry  before  her  husband  arrived. 
And  because  the  lake  was  dry  there  came  a 
terrible  drouth  in  the  Valley,  and  the  soil 
was  dried  up  and  nothing  grew. 

And  the  husband  was  much  displeased 
because  the  woman  had  drunk  up  all  the 
water  and  left  none  for  him,  and  he  became 
so  angry  that  he  forgot  the  customs  of  his 
people  and  beat  the  woman  with  his  staff. 
She  ran  away  from  him,  but  he  followed  her 
and  beat  her  yet  more.  And  she  wept,  and 
in  her  anger  she  turned  and  reviled  her  hus 
band,  and  threw  her  basket  at  him.  And 
while  they  were  in  this  attitude,  one  facing 
the  other,  they  were  turned  into  stone  for 
their  wickedness,  and  there  they  still  remain. 
The  upturned  basket  lies  beside  the  husband, 
where  the  woman  threw  it,  and  the  woman's 


*  Mirror  Lake. 


90         INDIANS  OF  THE  YO SEMITE. 

face   is   tear   stained   with   long  dark 
trailing  down. 

Half-Dome  is  the  woman  Tis-sa'-ack  and 
North  Dome  is  her  husband,  while  beside 
the  latter  is  a  smaller  dome  which  is  still 
called  Basket  Dome  to  this  day. 

LEGEND    OF    THE     GRIZZLY    BEAR. 

The  significance  and  derivation  of  the 
name  "  Yosemite,"  as  given  by  old  Tenei'ya, 
chief  of  the  tribe,  have  been  explained  in  an 
other  chapter,  but  there  is  also  a  legendary 
account  of  its  origin,  which  may  be  of 
interest. 

Long,  long  ago,  when  the  remote  ances 
tors  of  the  Yosemite  Indians  dwelt  peace 
fully  in  the  valley  called  Ah-wah'-nee,*  one 
of  the  stalwart  young  braves  of  the  tribe 
went  early  one  morning  to  spear  some  fish 
in  the  lake  Ah-wei'-yah.f  Before  reaching 
his  destination  he  was  confronted  by  a  huge 
grizzly  bear,  who  appeared  from  behind  one 
of  the  enormous  boulders  in  that  vicinity, 
and  savagely  disputed  his  passage. 

Being  attacked  in  this  unexpected  mari 
ner,  the  Indian  defended  himself  to  the  best 


*  Yosemite  Valley, 
f  Mirror  Lake. 


Photograph  by  Fiske. 

NORTH    DOME    (TO-KO'-YA), 

3,723  Feet. 

This  rock  Is  believed  by  the  Indians  to  represent  Tis-sa'-ack's 
husband,  turned  into  stone  for  beating  his  wife.  The  lower 
dome  to  the  right  is  the  basket  which  she  threw  at  him. 
See  "Legend  of  Tis-sa'-ack." 


92         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

of  his  ability,  using  for  the  purpose  the  dead 
limb  of  a  tree  which  was  near  at  hand,  and, 
after  a  loner  and  furious  struggle,  in  which 
he  was  badly  wounded,  he  at  length  suc 
ceeded  in  killing  the  bear. 

His  exploit  was  considered  so  remarka 
ble  by  the  rest  of  the  tribe  that  they  called 
him  Yo-sem'-i-te  (meaning  a  full-grown 
grizzly  bear),  in  honor  of  his  achievement, 
and  this  name  was  transmitted  to  his  chil 
dren,  and  eventually  to  the  whole  tribe. 

LEGEND  OF  THE:  TUL-TOK'-A-NA. 
There  were  once  two  little  boys  living  in 
the  Valley  of  Ah-wah'-nee,  who  went  down 
to  the  river  to  swim.  When  thev  had  finished 
their  bath  they  went  on  shore  and  lay  down 
on  a  large  boulder  to  dry  themselves  in  the 
sun.  While  lying  there  they  fell  asleep,  and 
slept  so  soundly  that  they  never  woke  up 
again.  Through  many  moons  and  many 
snows  they  slept,  and  while  they  slept  the 
great  rock*  on  which  they  lay  was  slowly 
rising,  little  by  little,  until  it  soon  lifted 
them  up  out  of  sight,  and  their  friends 
searched  for  them  everywhere  without  suc- 


*E1  Capitan. 


Photograph  by  Foley. 

EL  CAPITAN  (TO-TAU-KON-NU'-LA), 

3,300  Feet. 

The  Tndiahs  believe  that  this  great  rock  grew  from  a  small 
boulder.    See  "Legend  of  the  Tul-tok'-a-nn." 


94         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

cess.  Thus  they  were  carried  up  into  the 
blue  sky,  until  they  scraped  their  faces 
against  the  moon ;  and  ctill  they  slept  on. 

Then  all  the  animals  assembled  to  bring 
down  the  little  boys  from  the  top  of  the 
great  rock.  Each  animal  sprang  up  the 
face  of  the  rock  as  far  as  he  could.  The 
mouse  could  only  spring  a  hand's  breadth, 
the  rat  two  hands'  breadths,  the  raccoon  a 
little  more,  and  so  on.  The  grizzly  bear 
made  a  great  leap  up  the  wall,  but  fell  back 
like  all  the  others,  without  reaching  the  top. 
Finally  came  the  lion,  who  jumped  up 
farther  than  any  of  the  others,  but  even  he 
fell  back  and  could  not  reach  the  top. 

Then  came  the  tul-tok' -a-na,  the  insignifi 
cant  measuring  worm,  who  was  despised  by 
all  the  other  creatures,  and  began  to  creep 
up  the  face  of  the  rock.  Step  by  step,  little 
by  little,  he  measured  his  way  up  until  he 
was  soon  above  the  lion's  jump,  and  still 
farther  and  farther,  until  presently  he  was 
out  of  sight ;  and  still  he  crawled  up  and  up, 
day  and  night,  through  many  moons,  and  at 
length  he  reached  the  top,  and  took  the  little 
boys  and  brought  them  safely  down  to  the 
ground.  And  therefore  the  rock  was  named 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  95 

for  the    measuring  worm,  and  was    called 
Tu-tok-a-nu'-la. 


OF    GROUSE: 

I  will  here  relate  a  personal  experience 
which  occurred  in  September,  1857,  while 
out  with  a  large  party  of  Indians  on  a  deer 
hunt  in  the  mountains. 

One  day,  after  a  long  tramp,  I  stopped  to 
rest  by  the  side  of  a  small  lake  about  eight 
miles  from  the  present  site  of  Wawona,  and 
I  then  named  it  Grouse  Lake  on  account  of 
the  great  number  of  grouse  found  there. 
Very  soon  a  party  of  Indians  came  along 
carrying  some  deer,  and  stopped  on  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  lake  to  rest  and  get  some 
water.  Soon  after  they  had  started  again 
for  their  camp  I  heard  a  distinct  wailing  cry, 
somewhat  like  the  cry  of  a  puppy  when  lost, 
and  I  thought  the  Indians  must  have  left 
one  of  their  young  dogs  behind. 

When  I  joined  the  Indians  in  camp  that 
night  I  inquired  of  them  about  the  sound  I 
had  heard.  They  replied  that  it  was  not  a 
dog  —  that  a  long  time  ago  an  Indian  boy 
had  been  drowned  in  the  lake,  and  that 
every  time  any  one  passed  there  he  always 
cried  after  them,  and  that  no  one  dared  to 


g6         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

go  in  the  lake,  for  he  would  catch  them  by 
the  legs  and  pull  them  down  and  they  would 
be  drowned.  I  then  concluded  that  it  must 
have  been  some  unseen  water-fowl  that 
made  the  cry,  and  at  that  time  I  thought 
that  the  Indians  were  trying  to  impose  on 
my  credulity,  but  I  am  now  convinced  that 
they  fully  believed  the  story  they  told  me. 

Po-ho'-no  Lake,  the  headwaters  of  the 
Bridal  Veil  Creek,  was  also  thought  to  be 
haunted  by  troubled  spirits,  which  affected 
the  stream  clear  down  into  the  Yosemite 
Valley;  and  the  Indians  believed  that  an 
evil  wind  there  had  been  the  cause  of  some 
fatal  accidents  many  years  ago.  The  word 
Po-ho'-no  means  a  puffing  wind,  and  has 
also  been  translated  "  Evil  Wind,"  on  ac 
count  of  the  superstition  above  referred  to. 

LEGEND    OF    THE)    LOST    ARROW. 

Tee-hee'-nay  was  a  beautiful  Ah-wah'-nee 
maiden,  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of  her 
tribe,  and  she  was  beloved  by  Kos-su'-kah, 
a  strong  and  valiant  young  brave.  Valuable 
presents  had  been  made  to  the  bride's  par 
ents,  and  they  had  given  their  consent  to  an 
early  marriage,  which  was  to  be  celebrated 
by  a  great  feast. 


Photograph  by  Fiske. 
BRIDAL 


(PO-HO'-NO), 

940  Feet. 


The  source  of  this  stream  Is  supposed  by  the  Indians  to  be 
haunted  by  troubled  spirits,  which  affect  the  water  along 
Its  whole  course.  The  word  Po-ho'-no  means  a  "puffing 
wind." 


98         INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

To  provide  an  abundance  of  venison  and 
other  meat  for  this  banquet,  Kos-su'  kah 
gathered  together  his  young  companions 
and  went  into  the  mountains  in  search  of 
game.  In  order  that  Tee-hee'-nay  might 
know  of  his  welfare  and  the  success  of  the 
hunt,  it  was  agreed  between  the  lovers  that 
at  sunset  Kos-su'-kah  should  go  to  the  high 
rock  to  the  east  of  Cho'-lack,*  and  should 
shoot  an  arrow  into  the  Valley,  to  which 
should  be  attached  a  number  of  grouse 
feathers  corresponding  to  the  number  of 
deer  that  had  fallen  before  the  skill  of  the 
hunters. 

At  the  t;me  appointed  Tee-hee'-nay  went 
near  the  foot  of  the  great  cliff  and  waited, 
with  her  eyes  raised  to  the  towering  rocks 
above,  hoping  with  her  keen  sight  to  see  the 
form  of  her  lover  outlined  against  the  sky, 
but  no  form  could  she  see,  and  no  arrow 
fell  into  the  Valley.  As  darkness  gathered,, 
gloomy  forebodings  took  possession  of  her, 
and  she  climbed  part  way  up  the  canyon 
called  Le-ham'-i-teet  because  the  arrow- 
wood  grew  there,  and  finally  she  stood  at  the 


*  Yosemite  Falls. 

f  Now  known  as  Indian  Canyon. 


MYTHS  AND  LEGENDS.  99 

very  foot  of  the  rocky  wall  which  rose  to 
dizzy  heights  above  her,  and  there  she 
waited  through  the  long  night. 

With  the  first  streak  of  dawn  she  bounded 
swiftly  up  the  rough  canyon,  for  she  was 
fully  convinced  that  some  terrible  fate  had 
overtaken  the  brave  Kos-su'-kah,  and  soon 
she  stood  upon  the  lofty  summit,*  where 
she  found  her  lover's  footsteps  leading  to 
wards  the  edge  of  the  precipice.  Drawing 
nearer  she  was  startled  to  find  that  a  portion 
of  the  cliff  had  given  way,  and,  upon  peer 
ing  over  the  brink,  what  was  her  horror  to 
discover  the  blood-stained  and  lifeless  body 
of  Kos-su'-kah  lying  on  a  rocky  ledge  far 
beneath. 

Summoning  assistance  by  means  of  a  sig 
nal  fire,  which  was  seen  from  the  Valley 
below,  a  rope  was  made  of  sapling  tama 
racks  lashed  firmly  together  with  thongs 
from  one  of  the  deer  that  was  to  have 
furnished  the  marriage  feast,  and  Tee-hee'- 
nay  herself  insisted  on  being  lowered  over 
the  precipice  to  recover  the  body  of  her 
lover.  This  was  at  last  successfully  accom 
plished,  and  when  his  ghastly  form  lay  once 


*  Yosemite  Point. 


ioo       INDIANS  OF  THE  YOSEMITE. 

more  upon  the  rocky  summit,  she  threw  her 
self  on  his  bosom  and  gave  way  to  a  passion 
ate  outburst  of  grief. 

Finally  she  became  quiet,  but  when  they 
stooped  to  raise  her  they  found  that  her 
spirit  had  fled  to  join  the  lost  Kos-su'-kah, 
and  that  the  lovers  were  re-united  in  death. 
•  The  fateful  arrow  that  was  the  cause  of 
so  much  sorrow  could  never  be  found, 
and  the  Indians  believe  that  it  was  taken 
away  by  the  spirits  of  Kos-su'-kah  and 
Tee-hee'-nay.  In  memory  of  them,  and  of 
this  tragedy,  the  slender  spire  of  rock*  that 
rises  heavenward  near  the  top  of  the  cliff  at 
this  point  is  known  among  the  Indians  as 
Hum-mo',  or  the  Lost  Arrow. 


*  Sometimes  called  "  The  Devil's  Thumb." 


APPENDIX. 


HINTS  TO  YOSEMITE  VISITORS. 

Secure  stage  seats  in  advance. 

Take  only  hand  baggage,  unless  for  a 
protracted  visit.  For  a  short  trip,  an  outing 
suit  and  two  or  three  waists,  with  a  change 
for  evening  wear,  will  be  found  sufficient. 
The  free  baggage  allowance  on  the  stage 
lines  is  fifty  pounds. 

Men  will  find  flannel  or  negligee  shirts 
the  most  comfortable. 

In  April,  May  and  June  wear  warm  cloth 
ing  and  take  heavy  wraps.  In  July,  August 
and  September  wear  medium  clothing,  with 
light  wraps.  In  October  and  November 
wear  warm  clothing,  with  heavy  wraps.  The 
nights  are  cool  at  all  seasons. 

Dusters  are  always  advisable,  and  ladies 
should  provide  some  light  head  covering  to 
protect  the  hair  from  dust.  Sun  bonnets  are 
frequently  worn. 

Short  skirts  are  most  convenient. 

Divided  skirts  are  proper  for  trail  trips, 
as  ladies  are  required  to  ride  astride.  Heavy 


102  APPENDIX. 

denim  for  skirt  and  bloomers  is  very  satis 
factory.  Such  skirts  can  be  hired  in  the 
Valley. 

Waists  of  soft  material  and  neutral  shades 
are  appropriate.  Avoid  white. 

Something  absolutely  soft  for  neckwear 
will  be  found  a  great  comfort,  both  by  men 
and  women. 

Leggings,  stout,  comfortable  shoes  and 
heavy,  loose  gloves,  will  be  found  very 
serviceable. 

A  soft  felt  hat  is  preferable  to  straw.  One 
that  will  shade  the  eyes  is  best.  A  cloth 
traveling  cap  is  the  worst  thing  to  wear. 

Smoked  glasses  will  sometimes  save  the 
wearer  a  headache. 

Except  in  April,  May  and  November,  an 
umbrella  is  apt  to  be  a  useless  encumbrance. 

If  the  skin  is  sensitive,  and  one  wishes  to 
avoid  painful  sunburn,  the  use  of  a  pure 
cream  and  soft  cloth  is  preferable  to  water, 
and  far  more  efficacious. 

A  week  is  the  shortest  time  that  should 
be  allowed  for  a  trip  to  Yosemite.  Two 
weeks  are  better.  The  grandeur  of  the 
Valley  cannot  be  fully  appreciated  in  a  few 
days. 


APPENDIX.  103 

Those  not  accustomed  to  staging  or  moun 
tain  climbing  should  make  some  allowance 
in  their  itineraries  for  rest.  Many  visitors 
spoil  their  pleasure  by  getting  too  tired. 

Take  a  little  more  money  than  you  think 
will  be  needed.  You  may  want  to  prolong 
your  stay. 

Hunting,  or  the  possession  of  firearms,  is 
not  permitted  in  the  Yosemite  National 
Park.  Fishing  is  allowed,  and  in  June  and 
July  an  expert  angler  is  likely  to  be  well 
rewarded.  Rods  and  tackle  may  be  hired 
in  the  Valley. 

There  is  no  hardship,  risk  or  danger  in 
any  part  of  the  Yosemite  trip.  Many  old 
people  and  children  visit  the  Valley  without 
difficulty. 

A  knowledge  of  horsemanship  is  not 
needed  for  going  on  the  trails.  The  most 
timid  people  make  the  trips  with  enjoyment. 
Some  of  the  finest  views  can  only  be 
obtained  in  this  way. 

There  is  a  laundry  in  the  Valley. 

There  is  a  barber  shop. 

There  is  a  post  office,  telegraph  and  ex 
press. 


104  APPENDIX. 

There  is  a  general  store  and  places  for  the 
sale  of  photographs,  curios  and  Indian  work. 

Treat  the  Indians  with  courtesy  and  con 
sideration,  if  you  expect  similar  treatment 
from  them.  Do  not  expect  them  to  pose  for 
you  for  nothing.  They  are  asked  to  do  it 
hundreds  of  times  every  summer,  and  are 
entitled  to  payment  for  their  trouble. 

Kodak  films  and  plates  can  be  obtained 
in  the  Valley. 

Developing  and  printing  are  done  in  the 
Valley. 

TAKE  YOUR  CAMERA. 


APPENDIX. 


105 


OFFICIAL,  TABLE:  OF  DISTANCES  AND  L,IV£RY 
CHARGES. 

The  following  rates  for  the  transportation 
of  tourists  in  and  about  the  Yosemite  Valley 
have  been  established  by  the  Board  of  Com 
missioners  to  manage  the  Yosemite  Valley 
and  Mariposa  Big  Tree  Grove: 


CARRIAGES. 


p*> 

? 

-0      'C 

a 

eu  ^ 

II 

FROM  HOTELS  OR  PUBLIC 

V^ 

s° 

SH 

CAMPS,  AND  RETURN. 

cS  y*C 

sS§ 

t»JD  O 

wsa 

fes 

<u  o  £ 

3feo 
PtioS 

feS 

S3  g 

ti  ofc 

Miles 

Each 

Each 

Person 

Person 

To  Cascades,    Yosemite  and 

Bridal  Veil  Falls  

16.00 

$  i-5° 

$    2.00 

To  Mirror  Lake 

5-82 

i  .00 

1  .00 

To   River  View    and    Bridal 

Veil    Falls 

10.41 

i  .00 

I    SO 

To  New  Inspiration  Point   ,  . 

14.38 

2.00 

*  •  o 

2.50 

To   Happy  Isles  

4.    OO 

.  so 

1  .00 

To  Yosemite  Falls  

f    v*^v^ 

3.00 

\J 

•  50 

•75 

Continued  on  next  page. 


io6 


APPENDIX 


SADDLE   HORSES. 


FROM  HOTELS  OR  PUBLIC 
CAMPS,   AND   RETURN. 

Estimated 
Distance 
(Round  Trip) 

Rate  For  Party 
of  Four  or 
More 

Rate  For  Party 
of  Less  Than 
Four 

Miles 

Each 

Each 

Person 

Person 

To  Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls 

10.90 

$  2-50 

$3.00 

To  Yosemite  Falls  and  Eagle 

Peak  .              

13.  18 

-i    QO 

^.oo 

To   Glacier   Point    and   Sen 

o  •  w 

o  •  w 

tinel  Dome  

II  .  14 

3.00 

3.00 

To  Yosemite  Point  

10.00 

2.50 

3.00 

To  Eagle  Peak  

13.00 

3.00 

3.00 

To  Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls 

and   Glacier    Point     (Con 

tinuous  Trip) 

IQ    22 

4.OO 

500 
.  WV-J 

To    Glacier    Point,    Sentinel 

Ay  .  4.4 

Dome  and  Fissures  .    

14.00 

3  50 

3-75 

To  Old  Inspiration  Point  and 

Stanford  Point          

16.00 

4  OO 

4.00 

To  Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls 

T-  •  ^w 

and    Cloud's    Rest    (Same 

Day   

22.00 

4.00 

5.00 

Charges  For  Guide    (Includ 

ing  Horse)  When  Furnished 

Free 

3.00 

1.  Trips  other  than  those  above  specified  shall 
be   subject  to   special   arrangements    between  the 
parties  and  the  stables. 

2.  Any  excess  of  the  above  rates,  as  well  as  any 
extortion,  incivility,  misrepresentation,  or  riding  of 
unsafe   animals,    should  be  reported  to  the  Guar 
dian's  office. 

3.  All  distances  are  estimated  from  the   Guar 
dian's  office. 

BY  ORDER  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS. 


APPENDIX.  107 


SUPPLEMENTARY  TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 
FROM  GUARDIAN'S  OFFICE. 

MILES 

Bridal  Veil  Fall 4 

Yosemite  Falls,  base $4 

Upper  Yosemite  Fall,  base 2^4 

Upper  Yosemite  Fall,  top 4/4 

Little  Yosemite  Valley 8 

Glacier  Point  (short  trail) 4/^ 

Glacier  Point   (via  Nevada  Falls) 14^ 

Cascades    .                         8 


INTERPRETATION  OF  INDIAN  NAMES. 

The  Indians  had  names  for  all  the  prom 
inent  features  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and 
these  have  been  variously  translated  (some 
times  with  considerable  poetic  license),  and 
variously  spelled.  The  translations  given 
below  are  as  literal  as  possible,  without 
embellishment,  and  are  believed  to  be  fairly 
accurate.  The  spelling  adopted  is  such  as 
best  indicates  the  pronunciation. 

The  English  names,  by  which  the  falls  and 
peaks  are  commonly  known,  bear  no  relation 
to  the  Indian  names,  but  were  bestowed  by 


io8  APPENDIX. 

the  soldiers  of  the  Mariposa  Battalion  at  the 
time  the  Valley  was  discovered.  The  appro 
priateness  and  good  taste  of  most  of  them 
are  due  to  Dr.  L.  H.  Bunnell,  the  surgeon  of 
the  expedition. 
AH-WAH'-NEE  (original  name  of  Yosemite 

Valley) — "  Deep  grassy  valley." 
YO-SEM'-I-TE — "  Full-grown   grizzly  bear." 
PO-HO'-NO     (Bridal     Veil) — "A     puffing 

wind." 

LOI'-YA  (The  Sentinel) — "A  signal  station." 

CHO'-I.ACK  (Yosemite  Falls)— "  The  falls." 

CHO-KO'-NI   (Royal  Arches) — "  Canopy  of 

baby    basket."     Strictly    speaking    this 

name  applies  only  to  a  deep  alcove  near 

the  top  of  this  cliff. 

YO-WEI'-YEE  (Nevada) — "  Twisting." 
TO-TAU-KON-NU'-LA  (El  Capitan) — Named 
from  the  To-tau'-kons,  or  cranes,  which 
used  to  make  their  nests  in  a  meadow 
near  the  top  of  this  rock. 
KU-SO'-KO  (Cathedral  Rock) — Interpreta 
tion  doubtful. 

PU-SEE'-NA  CHUCK'-AH  (Cathedral  Spires) 
— "  Pu-see-na  "  means  mouse  or  rat,  and 
might  possibly  be  applied  to  a  squirrel. 
"  Chuek-ah  "  is  a  store  house  or  cache. 


APPENDIX.  109 

WAW-HAW'-KEE  (Three  Brothers)—"  Fall 
ing  rocks."  Pom-pom-pa'-sus,  usually 
given  as  the  Indian  name  of  the  Three 
Brothers,  is  the  name  of  a  smaller  rock 
immediately  to  the  West. 

WEI-YOW'  (Mt.  Watkins) —  "Juniper 
Mountain." 

TO-KO'-YA   (North  Dome)— "  The  basket." 

TIS-SA'ACK  (Half  Dome) — A  character  in 
Indian  mythology. 

MAH-'-TA  (Cap  of  Liberty) — Said  to  mean 
"  Martyr  Mountain." 

PI-WEI'-ACK  (Vernal  Fall) — Said  to  mean 
"Sparkling  Water." 

LE)-HAM'-I-TI;IV  (Indian  Canyon) — "The 
place  of  the  arrow-wood." 

HUM-MO'  (Devil's  Thumb)—"  The  Lost 
Arrow." 

AH-WEI'-YA  (Mirror  Lake) -"Quiet  Water." 

Too-ivOo'-LO-wEi-ACK  ( Tllillouette  Fall)— In 
terpretation  doubtful. 

WAH'-WO-NAH — "  Big  Tree."  (Now  com 
monly  spelled  and  pronounced  Wa-wo'- 
na.) 


i  io  APPENDIX. 

HEIGHTS  OF  YOSEMITF/S  WATERFALLS. 

FEET 

Cascades     700 

Bridal    Veil 940 

Ribbon    3, 300 

Sentinel 3,270 

Yosemite  (Upper  1,600  ft. ;  Lower  400  ft.)  .  .  2,634 

Royal  Arch 2,000 

Vernal 350 

Nevada    700 

Illillotiette    500 

YOSEMITE'S  PEAKS  AND  DOMES, 
WITH  ALTITUDES  ABOVE  FLOOR  OF  VALLEY. 

(The  Valley  Floor  is  about  4,000  feet  above 
sea  level.'} 

FEFT 

Inspiration  Point 1,248 

El  Capitan 3.3°° 

Cathedral    Rock 2,678 

Cathedral    Spires 1,934 

Royal    Arches (span)  2.000 

The  Sentinel 3.100 

Sentinel   Dome -(,122 

Three    Brothers 3.900 

Eagle   Peak 3,900 

Yosemite    Point 3,220 

Glacier    Point 3,250 

North   Dome 3,725 

Half   Dome 5,000 

Cap  of  Liberty 3,062 

Union   Point 2,350 

Cloud's  Rest 5.912 

Mt.   Starr  King SJOO 


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